Universal Salvatory Love

In Romans 3:9-20, we see a summation of what the Mosaic Law is now good for under the new covenant of Jesus Christ. Jesus did not come to the world to abolish the law, but rather to fulfill it and make it whole. Therefore, the law is not purposeless after his incarnation, but rather serves a new purpose for believers in Christ.

            The passage starts with a question: are Jews any better than Gentiles? Now, up until Christ’s ministry, the Jews looked down on any Gentile as one who is not of God’s chosen people; because of this prejudice, any Jew hearing this question would immediately say “yes, we are better than Gentile’s, because  we are of God’s chosen people”. In answer to his own posed question, Paul blows their legalistic minds with a radical, Christ-like answer of “No, not at all” (verse 9, NLT). He then goes on to quote a handful of different scriptures from Psalms that all have the general theme that every member of mankind is fallen and sinful. Continuing, he says that the law that was set up by Moses is no longer in place to regulate that sin nor is it there to determine the punishment of sins that everyone is prone to. Instead, the laws are there to reveal to us as humans our great fault and our intense need for a savior. He ends the section in verse 20 by saying that no one can get back on God’s good side by simply following the law; he then sums it up once more with a statement that the law is just a mirror for us to view our faults in.

            This passage is extremely important to the universality of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The mark of Christianity, as Jesus set it up, was to be inclusive of every human in the world by way of a common love for God. This universal love is what distinguishes Christianity from every other religion; it is not bound by geographical location or by human blood lines, but it is accepting of anyone and, indeed, everyone. That universality must include the Jews, but the rub here is in that they have worked their entire society and lifestyle around the Mosaic Law. This passage is here to show that Jesus did not come to negate their way of living (in all actuality, Jesus was a pious Jew). Instead, the law can be kept in place and abided by as long as it is regarded only as a tool for self reflection and not the way of salvation in itself.

            This is applicable to our current lives in that we as western Christians tend to get legalistic and exclusive just like the Jews in the times surrounding Jesus’ life. We are bias of newcomers to our churches and we tend to be kind of stuck up. In effect, we are doing what the Pharisees did and using the “rules” that we make up for ourselves to exclude people from the Kingdom of God. Instead, we should take the advice of Paul here and use the righteous lifestyle that was modeled by Jesus as a mirror in which to soberly examine ourselves to gage where we are in becoming more Christ-like.

            My personal reaction to this passage was a burst of excitement. I feel like I belong to a church that really has this concept down and I know from experience that this, unfortunately, is a rarity. In the future, I hope to be in full time ministry of some type and I expect to lean on this verse to keep myself in check when I start feeling “holier than thou”.

Peace,
The Dread

Mercy from a mortal

            Here in Acts 7 we get an abbreviated history of the Israeli people dictated by the apostle Stephan in front of the council of high priests. Though they all know their own people’s history, Stephan lays this out for them so that they can see the big picture mistake they have made.

            The scripture starts out with Stephan being asked if the accusations of blaspheme brought against him were true. Instead of answering yes or no, Stephan begins with his narrative of the history of God’s formerly chosen people. He begins with Abraham since he is acknowledged by these people as the beginning of their blood line and the one whom God made a promise to. He then progresses through the story of Joseph thus explaining how the Hebrew nation ended up in Egypt. Next he works through the well-known story of Moses and the great exodus on to the reception of the Ten Commandments and the wilderness period of the nation. He tapers off his monologue with King David and then his son Solomon building the temple of God and then has a magnificent finale in accusing the Jewish high council of making the same mistakes that their ancestors had made in the persecution of God’s prophets and the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. In spite of the fact, and possibly due to the fact that Stephan has set up his final accusation in an undeniable manner by laying out their ancestors faults, the council is infuriated. Here Stephan seems to know what is coming next and that they will definitely kill him. He looks up to heaven in an almost movie-like scene and witnesses Jesus standing at the right hand of God the Father and submits himself to the stoning that ensues. Like Jesus, however, his last words are in mercy for his murderers and not in anger or cursing.

            This passage is important because it shows us how we as Christian disciples can find the strength to be bold in the face of opposition. This seems kind of an extreme case, but that just goes to show how much more we can be bold in the face of only receiving a status of unpopularity. It also shows how a mere man—Stephan—can find it in himself to be unabashedly merciful as Jesus was, thus giving current Christians hope that we too can find that kind of expression of grace when people persecute us for our beliefs.

            This scripture is applicable for those Christians who may not have been Christ followers their whole lives and may not be able to piece together all of the famous Bible stories such as Joseph and the colorful coat or Moses and the red sea into one cohesive story.  It is important to know the history of the Israelite nation in order to understand why they had such a hard time accepting Jesus as the Christ and why they continue to do so today. Also, as previously stated, current day Christians can draw strength from Stephan’s example of sacrifice regardless of his mere mortal nature.

            My reaction to this scripture is one of awe at the amazing reward that Stephan receives in doing the will of God by accusing the council. His reward is to see Jesus in heaven and then to be brought there to be with him. This sounds morbid, but it is truly the longing of every Christian’s heart to be with Christ in heaven. Stephan was bold and obedient and received that which was rightfully his: eternity with Christ.

Peace,

The Dread

"Love each other as i have loved you"

            John 17:20-26 is a very brief section of scripture, but a very potent excerpt. In these six verses, we get a glimpse of Jesus’ love for us as believers as well as the Father’s longing to be in relationship with us.

            This passage is simply a prayer that Jesus prays for us; that is, future believers. He makes this absolutely clear when he says in verse one “I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me…” (NLT). Jesus, speaking to God the Father, prays that his followers in the future will be able to experience God how he does. Four times in the passage, he makes statements of the permeation of God in himself and vice versa and how he longs that we experience such perfect unity so that the world can know that God loves us. He then marvels at God’s timeless love and how it was before the world began. In his prayer, he continually longs for his disciples to be united the same way that God and himself are united; without conflict, division or strife; only love abounds and no separation. He ends the section by setting himself as the medium between humanity and God and commits to the continuation of this relationship, committing to communicate God’s love through him into us.

            This passage is important to us as Christians in two ways. First, it is confirmation of our standing in respect to God and Jesus. After knowing this prayer was said to God from Jesus, we don’t have to question either of their love. Secondly, we now know that Jesus desires us to follow the relationship template that God and him have set; that all of his followers should love each other and be united in the same way that he and the Father are united. Through this prayer we gain instruction as well as comfort.

            We can apply this instruction when we find ourselves in conflict with a fellow believer. I know that church politics are some of the ugliest arenas to wrestle in, but it is in these struggles we must remember that it is Jesus’ desire that we be unified with each other in love. We can also use this passage in the moments when we feel forgotten by Jesus as we all feel in times of trouble. Jesus thought of us before we were ever believers. He had confidence that his disciples would carry his story on and that you and I would one day hear it and believe. This is a comfort that only the human race can claim and I think that is something special.

            My reaction to this scripture was awe at Jesus remembering me and then a great burden to survey the relationships I hold with other believers. I feel challenged to right any dissension in my life and simply try to be unified in love with my brothers and sisters in Christ. We can do this on any given day with any given person and we shouldn't hesitate to do so.

Peace,

The Dread

dealing with temptation

            Here in Luke 4:1-13, we read the classic story of Jesus’ temptation in the dessert after his baptism. Luke writes that the Holy Spirit leads him into the wilderness and then sustains him there for forty days while he didn’t eat anything.

            So, in setting up the scene, we just get done seeing Jesus baptized and the Holy Spirit descending on him. The story picks up in verse one as Jesus heads away from the Jordan River and into the wilderness by the direction of the Holy Spirit which has just come upon him. Luke jumps right into the meat of the action as Satan appears to Jesus in his hunger and tries to convince him to change a stone into a loaf of bread. Jesus, despite his hunger, says no and cites Old Testament scripture that speaks about the Israelites wandering in the dessert after their exodus from Egypt. In the scripture cited, the author is talking about how God sustained the Israelites by his own power and not by physical bread; this is what Jesus intends to do in his wilderness experience. Satan then tries to tempt Jesus’ humanity with power and respect, offering him all the kingdoms of the world and says “I will give you the glory of these kingdoms and authority over them…because they are mine to give…if you will worship me.” (v.6-7). Jesus does not refute Satan’s claim of ownership, but instead cites another verse in Deuteronomy prohibiting the worship of any other gods for fear of the true God wiping the blasphemer from the face of the Earth. Lastly, Satan does something drastic and takes Jesus to the highest point of the Temple and dares him to jump and then uses Psalms 91 out of context and says that God will send angels to save him if he jumps. Jesus once again turns to Deuteronomy where it says “you must not test the Lord your God” (v. 12). This verse in the Old Testament refers to the Israelites complaining about their affliction at Massah. The devil then leaves Jesus.

            In this passage we gain several lessons from Jesus in how to deal with extreme temptation making this scripture extremely important for our Christian day-to-day life. First we see how Jesus, even under extreme circumstances, holds his faith in God and obedience to scripture above his own desires. Jesus was every bit as much human as any of us; because of this, his hunger was real, his desire for power and recognition was real and his longing to be glorified was real. He abstains from food so as not to negate the reason he is out in the wilderness by selfishly abusing his supreme power. He then refuses to take the glory of a king above all earthly kings, regardless of how appealing that is to his ego, because the price is too high; namely, worshiping someone other than the true God. In Satan’s last recorded attempt at thwarting Jesus’ righteousness, he dares him to test to see if God is really there. This doesn’t seem like a big deal, but Jesus reveals it for the sin that it is. God demands faith and obedience from us and Jesus points that out by citing the verse prohibiting testing God’s faithfulness. This passage also gives us other small insights such as Satan’s ownership of the kingdoms of the world, but the overarching theme in this story is Jesus demonstrating resistance to temptation by way of following the scriptures and staying loyal to God.

            We can apply this to our lives as a template for acting under the pressure of temptation. Jesus leaned on scripture for a route to take when his own flesh told him to do what was wrong. In the same way, when we’re under pressure to do the questionable, we can turn to scripture for black and white direction. As humans, we don’t think clearly when we’re in pressurized situations so we need those instructions in order to stay faithful to God.

            As I read this scripture, I am caught up in the supernatural situations such as Satan showing Jesus all the kingdoms of the world in an instant and Satan zipping Jesus to the top of the Temple which was far from where he was. To me this gives testament to Satan’s power, but also the power of scripture in refuting the illusions of temptation. Sin only has as much power as we allow and Jesus shows us by his actions that, with scripture in hand, head and heart, we don’t have to give sin any power.

be a Mirror not a Blanket

I've wrestled with this topic in the past and it reminds me of a science class i had that explained how light particles work. the short version is this: if they hit a mirror, they will bounce and head somewhere else, but if they hit a fabric, they get absorbed. As Christians, it is our job to be mirrors, not fabric for the light of Christ.

           

            Here in Mark 10:35-45, we get to catch a glimpse of what the Kingdom of God is like in a negative sense. Jesus takes the time to explain to his bumbling companions how unlike a man-run world God’s kingdom is.

            At the beginning of this passage, Jesus is approached by James and John, the sons of Zebedee. They pose a seemingly innocent request with huge implications. They ask Jesus to save them a seat in God’s kingdom on his right and his left for them. This seems a little audacious to me as well as to the other disciples when they heard this in verse 41. Jesus, however, receives their request gracefully as a parent receives the request of a 5 year old to drive the family car. He acknowledges their ignorance and says “you don’t know what you’re asking. Are you willing to do what I have to do?” Now, Jesus knew what “cup” it was he was going to have to drink and that it would be supernaturally difficult, but the brothers had no idea, so naturally, they emphatically said “yes!” Jesus seems to consider here in verse 39 because he then says “you will indeed drink from my bitter cup and be baptized with my baptism of suffering.” I’m guessing he is referring to the persecution they would endure after his resurrection and ascension.  Finally, Jesus explains that in the Kingdom of God, it is to be different. That, if one wants to be the first among his brothers, he must assume the role of a servant because that is actually what Jesus did when he came to earth. I think all Christians will agree that Jesus is, in every way, number one in God’s kingdom and he did in fact do the most slavish thing: death for the sins of the unworthy world.

            This passage is important to Christian discipleship because it is the core of how Christians are to interact with our world. With non-believers, we are called upon to be servants to people who don’t deserve it and probably won’t acknowledge the sacrifice we might have to make for their benefit. It is our job to become servants in this physical life and by doing such, become greater in the Kingdom of God. This passage also speaks on how we are to interact with our brothers and sisters in Christ. Jesus knew the other disciples were indignant because of James and John’s request so he acted quickly to cut off any dissention among his followers. He shows them that the goal isn’t to become the greatest by men’s standard, but to strive to be greater by God’s standard by way of becoming lowly by men’s standard. He basically says that it’s not worth arguing and fighting among yourselves for the top spot because the only way you’ll get that top spot is by assuming the lowest spot in your day to day lives.

            While this seems absolutely against our nature, Jesus’ lesson here applies directly to our lives. So many times we want to out-shine others at our work places, schools and in our social arenas by making ourselves look better; by trying to take that “right hand seat”.  Nevertheless, Jesus says that if you really want to be great in the eyes of the one person that ultimately matters, you have got to put yourself last in your social life. Servant-hood is not something that comes naturally to humans. We are hard wired for survival and getting an edge on everyone around us. Even the most passive people I know have some facet of their life that they are secretly competitive in. It’s in our human, sin-nature. But God calls his followers to act in their new, redeemed nature and let go of our fleshly yearning for glory and instead submit ourselves to others in order to gain true glory through being more like Jesus.

            My initial reaction to this passage was indignation along with the other disciples, but the more I mulled it over, the more I identified areas in my life that I try to outshine others for selfish reasons. This scripture is definitely a daily challenge to me to remain humble and check the reasons I do what I do at work, with my family and in my social life. God can only be glorified through us if we’re not taking the glory for ourselves.

Peace,

The Dread

Matthew 20:1-16

ok, so i have to analyse some scripture for a class i'm taking and i thought it would be good fodder to share. enjoy!

           

            Looking here at Matthew 20:1-16 shows us a strange parable told by Jesus about a vineyard owner and a day of service under him. This passage is a metaphor for how God works and what is within his rights as God above all.

            The parable goes something along the lines of this: There is this vineyard owner who hires his help by the day. One morning he sets out to find workers for the day and finds some in the city. He tells them that he’ll pay a full day’s wages to come work for the whole day. They agree and go to work. 3 more times, noon, three o’clock and five o’clock, the owner does the same thing and tells them that he will pay them whatever is appropriate at the end of the day. When the day’s work is over, all the workers are called by the foreman to be paid. The owner pays the last-hired workers first and gives them a full day’s pay. He then works his way toward the men who were hired first. Against logic, however, he only pays them one days worth of pay (the same as the guys who probably only worked a few hours). Naturally, they start complaining, but the owner rebukes them and says “Isn’t it my money to pay out how I see fit? What do you care if I want to be super nice to others? I paid you what I said I would.”

            This passage is extremely important because it gives us, as followers of the Judeo-Christian God, some insight on how he operates his “vineyard” that we live and work in. Basically it tells that God is all-powerful and that everything belongs to him to do with as he pleases. Therefore, we should not be envious or feel indignant when we have worked harder than others but receive a smaller blessing than they receive. Every breath we take is a blessing and for that alone, God is doing more than he is obligated to do, so we should be content that he is holding up his end of the bargain toward us.

            This parable helps people cope in the times in life when things get hard. It reminds us to remain humble and grateful for what we have. As Americans, we tend to get spoiled and somewhere along the line, we pick up this idea that we’re owed something by someone. This is simply untrue as God is the only one deserving of anything and we are extravagantly and obscenely blessed here in America. I know I can apply this parable to my life when looking at the success of friends and coworkers and learn from it to just be happy for God’s favor on their life because they are no more and no less deserving than me.

            Upon first reading this scripture (though I’ve heard it many times), I immediately started trying to assign meaning to every character. Vineyard owner is God, foreman is Jesus when he returns and workers are God’s followers. But then I stopped myself and thought “though some of these meanings may be true, what is the point of this scripture?” Truly, I think that the point behind the parable is gratitude and humility. This is what we as readers and believers should take from this scripture.

Thanks for reading!

Peace, The Dread

Not everyone alive is living

ok, so i know you probably read this title and instantly thought "ya, i can agree with that". This is exactly why i've decided to write a blog about this topic.

we hear in pop culture all the time from every one; actor interviews, movie themes and pop songs are all obliged to put this idea out there, but i'm curious as to what message exactly they are putting out. See, secular world views like to say that most people who are alive are not living "the life." this is usually in referance to the money and fame, or in some cases the promescuity of being able to "have" (for lack of a better term) any person that one might desire whether that be romantically, sexually, or for any onther exploitation. see this view holds simply that being fully alive and living the life all consist of finding the utmost comfort, excitement or extravagence in the world. Now i know, self-righteously, we'd all like to say "thats not me. wow, those people are horrible", but don't we all do this on some level or another? i mean, growing up in our consumer driven, self-gratifying North American culture, we are simply conditioned from a very young age to seek what it is that we want to be happy. I'll be the first to say that i struggled with this for a long time and in the process hurt many people who didn't deserve it. there was a time in my life that i would have done just about anything to get famous in music. Thankfully, i never got the opportunity to start down that road because i think that i would have ended up a worse mess than i did. Money, fame and sex will be fun for a season, but cannot fullfill which is exactly why we see so many "has-beens" in culture end up in rehab, VH1 and several other life-wreck collection plates.
From a Christian perspective, it is a much brighter long term picture. This is due to the completely different basis for understanding happiness. Happiness is a passing emotion that is great, however not sustaining and can not compare to joy which is a lasting, sustaining life theme. Love in this sense is not the fleeting sex scandals, nor the over-romanticised excursions between a lead actor and his supporting lady who end up divorced in a month. it is real, raw love that is so un-bridled, it calls for sacrafice and hurt and grinding out the problems issues and mess until the end. it goes without saying that i still believe in the institution of marriage though most of our culture seems to given up on that idea. Christianity speaks to that longing for money and fame, but responds with two things: 1. Jehovah Jirah and 2. humility. as far as money goes, we are called to rely on God to be our provider. now THAT is a rush if i've ever had one: wondering how we're gonna make this month's bills happen and then getting to the end of the month and seeing that you have a little left over. God will always provide for his children. and then humility as a calling card for the christian life. this doesn't seek to glorify self, but to lift up others in community. God blesses that, because it is imitation of his son, Jesus. Christ calls us to live life abundantly, but this doesn't mean getting caught in the ebb and flow of pop culture's mission for comfort. this means being truely counter-culture and seeking the joy of living in humility and life in God's perfect will where he is your provider. we are called to love God and love his creation, specifically, people. If you really want fullfillment and lasting comfort, than be a dare devil, live on the edge and be radically different from pop culture by living the christian life.

peace,
the dread