They were all amazed, so that they debated among themselves, saying, "What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him. (Mark 1:27)
This teaching was different...it was not what the people were used to hearing and seeing. This teacher was different. He didn't fit the mold. This teaching had the ring of authority to it because the Teacher exercised His authority. In the midst of their Bible study, a demonic entity was exposed and manifested its opposition to the Presence of Jesus. The Teacher then gave everyone, including the demon, an illustration of what He was teaching about authority. It's as if He was saying, "Allow Me to demonstrate." When the demon was silenced and cast out, the demonstration made the point that when God speaks, the spiritual opposition surrenders. No argument. No question. No negotiation. No joke. Here the authority of God in Christ is being explained by the gospel writer as it truly is. The Lord Jesus rules. His word is authoritative. Mark has introduced his readers to Jesus, the Son of God. He clearly points to evidence that declares that Jesus the Man is truly God in the Flesh. And because He is God, He speaks a message from God. The gospel was this new and authorized teaching that had come into its time in the midst of God's people. Because Jesus is God, with the authority of God's gospel, His teaching was, and is, an authorization that the Kingdom of God has come and is now coming. In that day it was powerful enough to have dominion over unclean spirits. We can be assured it has not lost that power. It is still authorized in its teaching. The Word of God embodies the power of God. And we still stand amazed in the Presence.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Special Delivery
When Israel went forth from Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language, Judah became His sanctuary, Israel, His dominion. (Psalm 114:1-2)
The nation of Israel did not bring about the circumstances of their deliverance...but they did have to do something. They had to leave Egypt. It was non-negotiable. God ordained that their crying and groaning was not without purpose. His people came to the place in their hearts that their desire was that life to be different. They wanted freedom from Pharaoh's domain. But their was a stipulation on this freedom. These slaves were not to be set free to become a master. They were set free to serve a different Master. God would be their ever-present potentate.
Israel was God's name for His people. They had come down to Egypt as a family. They would leave as a nation. Jacob's name had been changed to Israel when he was changed from a self-serving person to a faithful patriarch. Judah was to be the branch of this family tree to carry the scepter. A King would arise to shepherd His people. Messiah would be manifested, God in the midst of them, righteously ruling His people. But to get there to that place, Israel had to leave Egypt.
In our journey with God today my question becomes...are we there yet? Many of us say we want deliverance, we cry out against our bondage and yearn to be free...but we haven't left Egypt...or secretly harbor a desire to go back to our sinful lifestyles or stay connected to that which drags us back into Pharaoh's domain of darkness.
Our King is coming with the scepter. It is long past time we left Egypt behind. Forsake Pharaoh's land forever. With God we can do it.
The nation of Israel did not bring about the circumstances of their deliverance...but they did have to do something. They had to leave Egypt. It was non-negotiable. God ordained that their crying and groaning was not without purpose. His people came to the place in their hearts that their desire was that life to be different. They wanted freedom from Pharaoh's domain. But their was a stipulation on this freedom. These slaves were not to be set free to become a master. They were set free to serve a different Master. God would be their ever-present potentate.
Israel was God's name for His people. They had come down to Egypt as a family. They would leave as a nation. Jacob's name had been changed to Israel when he was changed from a self-serving person to a faithful patriarch. Judah was to be the branch of this family tree to carry the scepter. A King would arise to shepherd His people. Messiah would be manifested, God in the midst of them, righteously ruling His people. But to get there to that place, Israel had to leave Egypt.
In our journey with God today my question becomes...are we there yet? Many of us say we want deliverance, we cry out against our bondage and yearn to be free...but we haven't left Egypt...or secretly harbor a desire to go back to our sinful lifestyles or stay connected to that which drags us back into Pharaoh's domain of darkness.
Our King is coming with the scepter. It is long past time we left Egypt behind. Forsake Pharaoh's land forever. With God we can do it.
Monday, September 5, 2011
Stubborn Hearts...Hard of Hearing
But My people did not listen to My voice, and Israel did not obey Me. So I gave them over to the stubbornness of their heart, to walk in their own devices. (Psalm 81:11-12)
Once I actually heard some people telling one another that they were glad about their stubbornness. It was as if they were boasting about it. They thought that being stubborn was a positive character trait. Perhaps they were confusing it with steadfastness or perseverance...standing where God has decreed we stand and doing what God has commanded us to do. My grandfather used the term stubborn to describe his mules...who often stood where they wanted to stand and refused his commands to pull the plow. So with mules, stubbornness really leads nowhere. In God's people stubbornness leads us somewhere, but nowhere we really want to go.
There are privileges of obedience in God's people. Things go well with those who obey. They gain faith in increasing measure. They receive the provision of God's blessing upon their lives. There are also consequences of disobedience for God's people as well. The stubbornness of Israel as a people made them hard of hearing when it came to voice of God. They refused to do what God commanded and go where God desired. I believe that malady is afflicting the people of God in our day as well. Our stubbornness leads us somewhere, away from God's presence and into ourselves. Our stubbornness can lead us so far away from the Lord we can no longer hear His word even when we want to. We have become hard of hearing by our own design and God gives us over to our own devices. And that's the way we live our lives...trusting in ourselves and the world's design to order our lives without the wisdom of the Word of God. To walk in our own devices is to practice unbelief as a believer. This comes about when God lets us have our way...and we go our own way. Stubbornness surely leads us somewhere...nowhere.
When we stop listening to the word of the Lord we will see our faith diminish. Life can get hard for God's people without the wisdom of God. When we hear the teachings of Jesus, the great narratives of Israel's journey with God, and the great epics of faith as only stories without life application we don't learn about life in any meaningful way. We all know people who can tell great Bible stories but are lousy at life. They are consistently demonstrating an obvious disconnect between what they claim to believe and how they actually live. You see, God never tells His story for our amusement...He tells it for our salvation. He is not the Great Entertainer...He is the Great Deliverer. He gives us His word to hear and heed...to practice its principles and sustain our life. God's people are privileged as long as they listen to the Word of God. We are exposed to the enemy when we don't.
So is there a remedy for this disorientation? I think so. Listen to the word of the Lord and and live like the Lord desires. Don't be like a mule. Be like the Lord.
Once I actually heard some people telling one another that they were glad about their stubbornness. It was as if they were boasting about it. They thought that being stubborn was a positive character trait. Perhaps they were confusing it with steadfastness or perseverance...standing where God has decreed we stand and doing what God has commanded us to do. My grandfather used the term stubborn to describe his mules...who often stood where they wanted to stand and refused his commands to pull the plow. So with mules, stubbornness really leads nowhere. In God's people stubbornness leads us somewhere, but nowhere we really want to go.
There are privileges of obedience in God's people. Things go well with those who obey. They gain faith in increasing measure. They receive the provision of God's blessing upon their lives. There are also consequences of disobedience for God's people as well. The stubbornness of Israel as a people made them hard of hearing when it came to voice of God. They refused to do what God commanded and go where God desired. I believe that malady is afflicting the people of God in our day as well. Our stubbornness leads us somewhere, away from God's presence and into ourselves. Our stubbornness can lead us so far away from the Lord we can no longer hear His word even when we want to. We have become hard of hearing by our own design and God gives us over to our own devices. And that's the way we live our lives...trusting in ourselves and the world's design to order our lives without the wisdom of the Word of God. To walk in our own devices is to practice unbelief as a believer. This comes about when God lets us have our way...and we go our own way. Stubbornness surely leads us somewhere...nowhere.
When we stop listening to the word of the Lord we will see our faith diminish. Life can get hard for God's people without the wisdom of God. When we hear the teachings of Jesus, the great narratives of Israel's journey with God, and the great epics of faith as only stories without life application we don't learn about life in any meaningful way. We all know people who can tell great Bible stories but are lousy at life. They are consistently demonstrating an obvious disconnect between what they claim to believe and how they actually live. You see, God never tells His story for our amusement...He tells it for our salvation. He is not the Great Entertainer...He is the Great Deliverer. He gives us His word to hear and heed...to practice its principles and sustain our life. God's people are privileged as long as they listen to the Word of God. We are exposed to the enemy when we don't.
So is there a remedy for this disorientation? I think so. Listen to the word of the Lord and and live like the Lord desires. Don't be like a mule. Be like the Lord.
Sunday, September 4, 2011
A Longing Last Look
Remember Lot's wife.
Remember...Jesus was talking to disciples. He was reminding them to remember the story. The story in the Hebrew scriptures about Lot (the nephew of Abraham), and his wife is found in Genesis 19. Jesus wanted His disciples to recall this woman's response to a warning about the impending judgment of God. The city of Sodom was on a fast track leading to destruction and God's angels had warned Lot and his wife and daughters that it was coming. It was perilous times for them. God was going to destroy the city of Sodom for its wickedness and rebellion. This family was miraculously delivered from the danger zone with a warning to flee for their very lives and not look back upon the place from where they had been rescued. What was the response of Lot's wife? She had to take one last look. It was a longing last look for the life she was being led away from. And it cost her dearly. A desire for the life she was leaving behind was her fatal attraction. Sin's power is only broken by the power of God to save. And some disciples look backward more than they look forward. Coming out of Sodom, coming out of sin, was a one way journey. The way out was life. Judgment was coming. Death was near. It's a lesson for the modern day disciple. One look back to where we are being delivered from and we are tempted to go back. If we look backward to what God has deemed worthy of destruction, we will be destroyed as well. We will not live. Lot's wife looked back to the place where she had left her heart...in Sodom. It was her last look alive. How many of us take too many longing looks backward...never moving forward into where God is leading? One look back is one look too many. One longing look can be our very last look. Looking backward towards sin's domain will render us useless for the journey of salvation. God is leading us somewhere. Don't leave anything worth dying for behind in Sodom. Leave with your life and live!
Remember...Jesus was talking to disciples. He was reminding them to remember the story. The story in the Hebrew scriptures about Lot (the nephew of Abraham), and his wife is found in Genesis 19. Jesus wanted His disciples to recall this woman's response to a warning about the impending judgment of God. The city of Sodom was on a fast track leading to destruction and God's angels had warned Lot and his wife and daughters that it was coming. It was perilous times for them. God was going to destroy the city of Sodom for its wickedness and rebellion. This family was miraculously delivered from the danger zone with a warning to flee for their very lives and not look back upon the place from where they had been rescued. What was the response of Lot's wife? She had to take one last look. It was a longing last look for the life she was being led away from. And it cost her dearly. A desire for the life she was leaving behind was her fatal attraction. Sin's power is only broken by the power of God to save. And some disciples look backward more than they look forward. Coming out of Sodom, coming out of sin, was a one way journey. The way out was life. Judgment was coming. Death was near. It's a lesson for the modern day disciple. One look back to where we are being delivered from and we are tempted to go back. If we look backward to what God has deemed worthy of destruction, we will be destroyed as well. We will not live. Lot's wife looked back to the place where she had left her heart...in Sodom. It was her last look alive. How many of us take too many longing looks backward...never moving forward into where God is leading? One look back is one look too many. One longing look can be our very last look. Looking backward towards sin's domain will render us useless for the journey of salvation. God is leading us somewhere. Don't leave anything worth dying for behind in Sodom. Leave with your life and live!
Saturday, September 3, 2011
The God-Made Man
Those who make them will become like them. Everyone trusts in them. (Psalm 115:8)
There is a huge difference between man-made gods and a God-made man. Idolatry is the reality of dead men making dead gods. Men fashion and design their gods for convenience and the ability to manage them. They can carry their gods into whatever their life situation presents to them. Big difference from being carried through the life situation by a God who lives. In Israel's formative years some would carry their household gods with them on a journey, or into a battle, or during times of festivities. Their gods were there to insure favor, future, or fertility. But futility was what these idols produced. There was not much difference in the lives of God's people at times than the lives of pagan people around them. The trust that people placed in idols could not bear fruit. Only futility. Uselessness. And men became like the things they worshipped. Our word for today is that they still do.
Idolatry in our day produces faithless people. Useless for God's work. Worthless in bearing eternal fruit. Dead men do not praise the Living God. A man must be made alive to worship the Living God. The Living God speaks to dead men and they live...to worship the God of the living.
And when people worship the Living God...they will become like the One they worship. This is the life of the God-made man. Living to worship the Living God and forsaking sinful idolatry once and for all. Hallelujah! Our God lives.
There is a huge difference between man-made gods and a God-made man. Idolatry is the reality of dead men making dead gods. Men fashion and design their gods for convenience and the ability to manage them. They can carry their gods into whatever their life situation presents to them. Big difference from being carried through the life situation by a God who lives. In Israel's formative years some would carry their household gods with them on a journey, or into a battle, or during times of festivities. Their gods were there to insure favor, future, or fertility. But futility was what these idols produced. There was not much difference in the lives of God's people at times than the lives of pagan people around them. The trust that people placed in idols could not bear fruit. Only futility. Uselessness. And men became like the things they worshipped. Our word for today is that they still do.
Idolatry in our day produces faithless people. Useless for God's work. Worthless in bearing eternal fruit. Dead men do not praise the Living God. A man must be made alive to worship the Living God. The Living God speaks to dead men and they live...to worship the God of the living.
And when people worship the Living God...they will become like the One they worship. This is the life of the God-made man. Living to worship the Living God and forsaking sinful idolatry once and for all. Hallelujah! Our God lives.
Friday, September 2, 2011
Faith On Deposit
He said to him, "By your own words I will judge you, you worthless slave. Did you know that I am an exacting man, taking up what I did not lay down and reaping what I did not sow?" (Luke 19:22)
Risky investments can reap big returns. The parable is told to tell us that the Lord values the investment He makes. And even though the story is about a financial investment, the focus is not on money. So often we think about what is familiar within our culture. So when we are materially successful as a believer, its easy to get pulled into the trap of being focused on being a good steward of the resources God has blessed us with. That is surely a principled belief. But God does not give us wealth to hoard. He expects us to put it to work. But I don't think financial investment is what Jesus is primarily teaching here. Before He tells the parable, the gospel writer tells us why He told it. He told the parable about a kingdom that was coming...and how the coming king's subjects were to conduct themselves until the king returned. Do business...with this...until I come... All the servants heard the same message. All the servants were given the same amount of resource...one mina. Upon the king's return one servant multiplied the mina and produced ten. One produced five. And one produced...well...none. He presented the same mina, wrapped up and hidden away in a handkerchief. Two out of three produced returns on investment. One broke even. Or did he? This slave who had hoarded th mina was unprofitable. Worthless is the king's description. I think the mina represents a measure of faith that the Lord gives to each of His servants. It is deposited within us and He expects we do business,Kingdom business, with it. The fruit of the Spirit is to be developed only because He has deposited this measure of faith within us. Like a garden, the more it is cultivated and nurtured, the greater the harvest will be. Some disciples produce in differing degrees and some disciples never seem to produce at all. They never demonstrate any works of faith or mature into fruitful disciples. These are the ones who have kept God's gift locked away, covered up and hidden from view. Could it be that the reason they do is because their understanding of God is as flawed as the unprofitable slave's view of the king? God is no more an exacting, or hard, master than the king in the parable. Unfaithful, or unprofitable, disciples may use that as an excuse for their lack of production. But the truth is that the more we study the word of God, the more we will know that our King is kind and compassionate and even enables us to bear fruit and produce returns on His investment. What the Lord is doing with us, slaves of Christ, is investing Himself in us. In the story, each servant reported the return to the king and stated that the mina was the Master's mina. Interesting to see that that even though the one-mina man did not please the king, he was not destroyed. But he was not rewarded either. When King Jesus returns, He will want to see a return on the deposit of faith He left with each of His slaves. Faith is not given to us so that it be kept hidden away in a handkerchief. Faith is to be boldly invested in a world of faithless people. Faith is to be invested to do business for the Kingdom of God. When the Lord returns, I do not want to be a one-mina man. I want to be one who shares in the joy of reigning with our King. I would like to hear that I have done well as a faithful slave, trusting the King to help me do business with what He has entrusted to me. Faith on deposit produces returns when it is put to work. Are you working out your faith in a faithless world or have you locked it away in a risk-free environment? Faithfulness produces more than fearfulness.
Risky investments can reap big returns. The parable is told to tell us that the Lord values the investment He makes. And even though the story is about a financial investment, the focus is not on money. So often we think about what is familiar within our culture. So when we are materially successful as a believer, its easy to get pulled into the trap of being focused on being a good steward of the resources God has blessed us with. That is surely a principled belief. But God does not give us wealth to hoard. He expects us to put it to work. But I don't think financial investment is what Jesus is primarily teaching here. Before He tells the parable, the gospel writer tells us why He told it. He told the parable about a kingdom that was coming...and how the coming king's subjects were to conduct themselves until the king returned. Do business...with this...until I come... All the servants heard the same message. All the servants were given the same amount of resource...one mina. Upon the king's return one servant multiplied the mina and produced ten. One produced five. And one produced...well...none. He presented the same mina, wrapped up and hidden away in a handkerchief. Two out of three produced returns on investment. One broke even. Or did he? This slave who had hoarded th mina was unprofitable. Worthless is the king's description. I think the mina represents a measure of faith that the Lord gives to each of His servants. It is deposited within us and He expects we do business,Kingdom business, with it. The fruit of the Spirit is to be developed only because He has deposited this measure of faith within us. Like a garden, the more it is cultivated and nurtured, the greater the harvest will be. Some disciples produce in differing degrees and some disciples never seem to produce at all. They never demonstrate any works of faith or mature into fruitful disciples. These are the ones who have kept God's gift locked away, covered up and hidden from view. Could it be that the reason they do is because their understanding of God is as flawed as the unprofitable slave's view of the king? God is no more an exacting, or hard, master than the king in the parable. Unfaithful, or unprofitable, disciples may use that as an excuse for their lack of production. But the truth is that the more we study the word of God, the more we will know that our King is kind and compassionate and even enables us to bear fruit and produce returns on His investment. What the Lord is doing with us, slaves of Christ, is investing Himself in us. In the story, each servant reported the return to the king and stated that the mina was the Master's mina. Interesting to see that that even though the one-mina man did not please the king, he was not destroyed. But he was not rewarded either. When King Jesus returns, He will want to see a return on the deposit of faith He left with each of His slaves. Faith is not given to us so that it be kept hidden away in a handkerchief. Faith is to be boldly invested in a world of faithless people. Faith is to be invested to do business for the Kingdom of God. When the Lord returns, I do not want to be a one-mina man. I want to be one who shares in the joy of reigning with our King. I would like to hear that I have done well as a faithful slave, trusting the King to help me do business with what He has entrusted to me. Faith on deposit produces returns when it is put to work. Are you working out your faith in a faithless world or have you locked it away in a risk-free environment? Faithfulness produces more than fearfulness.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Battle Flags
Your adversaries have roared in the midst of Your meeting place; They have set up their own standards for signs. (Psalm 74:4)
Who can forget the iconic picture of the American battle flag being raised on the World War II battleground of Iwo Jima? When I think of this passage I perceive a picture of a great battle. The battleground is God's ground. When you see God moving into the realm of the entrenched spiritual opposition, the enemy digs in. His forces will brazenly come into the place where God has claimed for Himself. They will plant their flags on holy ground...just to let us know the enemy fights on. In the gospels we read of an occasion where Jesus encountered a demonic manifestation in the synagogue...the meeting place. The psalmist is talking about a reality many centuries before that time where Jesus cast out devils in Bible study. This tells us that first century demonic appearances were not a unique phenomenon. This is a common thing, before and after. And we can gain the understanding that we are not talking about the devil invading God's strongholds...it's the other way around. The Lord Jesus did not authorize a retreating action or a defensive battle. He came to destroy the works of the devil...to do battle with sin...and He won. He engages the enemy and commands us to join Him. The Lord is on the offense and He expects the people of God to engage the enemy with the Word of God. The psalmist is crying out for the expulsion of the unauthorized occupation of wickedness in holy places. The standard of the adversaries, the battle flag of ground taken in warfare, is to be thrown down. The psalmist is not telling the Lord what He doesn't already know. He is declaring a desire for the day to come when God makes the earth a footstool for His feet and His enemies serve Him and surrender to His authority. Have you ever been weary of the devil's constant assault on humanity in general and you in particular? Are you tired of the appearance that evil is winning the battle? Sometimes we can be deceived into thinking that the Lord has rejected His people and God doesn't care about us. But that is only the appearance...it's a lie that is the basis of the enemy's strategy. This devil is defeated and is losing the war...but he is an expert in the propaganda battle. The good news is that the battleground is God's ground. And soon His standard of righteousness will be raised for all to see. The standard that we shall raise will be our intolerance for wickedness in holy places and in holy people. Righteousness reigns in God's kingdom.
Who can forget the iconic picture of the American battle flag being raised on the World War II battleground of Iwo Jima? When I think of this passage I perceive a picture of a great battle. The battleground is God's ground. When you see God moving into the realm of the entrenched spiritual opposition, the enemy digs in. His forces will brazenly come into the place where God has claimed for Himself. They will plant their flags on holy ground...just to let us know the enemy fights on. In the gospels we read of an occasion where Jesus encountered a demonic manifestation in the synagogue...the meeting place. The psalmist is talking about a reality many centuries before that time where Jesus cast out devils in Bible study. This tells us that first century demonic appearances were not a unique phenomenon. This is a common thing, before and after. And we can gain the understanding that we are not talking about the devil invading God's strongholds...it's the other way around. The Lord Jesus did not authorize a retreating action or a defensive battle. He came to destroy the works of the devil...to do battle with sin...and He won. He engages the enemy and commands us to join Him. The Lord is on the offense and He expects the people of God to engage the enemy with the Word of God. The psalmist is crying out for the expulsion of the unauthorized occupation of wickedness in holy places. The standard of the adversaries, the battle flag of ground taken in warfare, is to be thrown down. The psalmist is not telling the Lord what He doesn't already know. He is declaring a desire for the day to come when God makes the earth a footstool for His feet and His enemies serve Him and surrender to His authority. Have you ever been weary of the devil's constant assault on humanity in general and you in particular? Are you tired of the appearance that evil is winning the battle? Sometimes we can be deceived into thinking that the Lord has rejected His people and God doesn't care about us. But that is only the appearance...it's a lie that is the basis of the enemy's strategy. This devil is defeated and is losing the war...but he is an expert in the propaganda battle. The good news is that the battleground is God's ground. And soon His standard of righteousness will be raised for all to see. The standard that we shall raise will be our intolerance for wickedness in holy places and in holy people. Righteousness reigns in God's kingdom.
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