Thoughts on the Sermon on the Mount

I found this blog post on Jason Upton's website (Upton is one of my favorite worship leaders). This was written by Eberhardt Arnold.

How do we respond to the Sermon on the Mount? The Sermon on the Mount is
the first step on the way of discipleship, and it is of decisive importance to
me that our church consider this deeply. If we grasp the Sermon on the
Mount and believe it, then nothing can frighten us - neither our own
self-recognition, nor financial threats, nor our personal weakness.
The
dedication demanded in the Sermon on the Mount is not a new law or moral
teaching. Instead it is forgiveness. Its vital element is the light
and warmth of the Holy Spirit. Here is Christ: the essence of salt, and
the strength of the tree that bears good fruit. The Sermon on the Mount
shows us the character of a community, which shines like a light for the whole
world.
The Sermon on the Mount is not a high-tension moralism, but we must
grasp it as the revelation of God's real power in human life. If we take
our surrender to God seriously and allow him to enter our lives as light, as the
only energy which makes new life possible, then we will be able to live the new
life.

To read more visit this link

"Flesh and Bone make my home"

That is one of my weirdest post titles ever! It connects though. You'll see.
I was reading through my old journal that encompasses most of the last school year. I found an entry that I really liked and thought I would share.

October 5th, 2007

So I did my Bible study last night (On the theme of Immanuel seen throughout the Bible) and it went well. The Bible study was about the temple Solomon built and how God had a promised, designated place for people to worship, sacrifice, pray and repent. We then talked about the new covenant implications found in 1 Corinthians 3:16-17:

"Do you not know that you are a temple of God

and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

If any man destroys the temple of God,

God will destroy him, for the temple of

God is holy, and that is what you are."

The first thing is that we are a new temple. We don't need (or want!) a geographic location to go to if we need to pray, worship, repent, etc. God has found a new dwelling place inside every believer. What is so beautiful is that first, though God chose to not be boxed in to one geographic location, He chose to make His dwelling place, His temple, even in my walls of flesh. What is amazing is that, just like in Solomon's temple, God has made a promise to be there 24/7. There aren't visiting hours in this temple. It doesn't have vacation days.

What stuck out to me is that God chose to make His temple within the human frame. He is there, and we are still His temple, now matter what we feel. Whether we feel lost, doubting, ashamed, fantastic, on fire, so-so, persistent, or any other emotion He is there.

When God chose to build His temple this time, He chose not brick, stones, fancy tapestries, fine gold pieces, elaborate altars or lamp stands. He chose walls of flesh, altars of physical and emotional brokenness, the decoration of our uniquely made hearts, souls, minds, and spirits, and the worship, the songs of an in-process, renewed people.

He chose to make His dwelling place in the weak, broken, sinful, needy human frame.

He promised to hear, forgive, restore, show mercy, and accept sacrifice and praise and that is what He is doing.

"But will God indeed dwell with mankind on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain You; how much less this house which I have built." 2 Chronicles 6:18

He wasn't kidding about being Jealous

"Put me like a seal over your heart,

Like a seal on your arm

For love is as strong as death,

Jealousy is as severe as Sheol

Its flashes are flashes of fire,

The very flame of the LORD.

"Many waters cannot quench love,

Nor will rivers overflow it;

If a man were to give all the riches of his house for love,

It would be utterly despised."

Song of Solomon 8:6-7 (NASB)

This verse is one that I have been meditating on recently. This comes from the book Song of Solomon or Song of Songs (your preference). It's a book you don't often hear about in church. There are typically two views about this book- 1.) This is a book about the intimacy and beauty in a marriage. This is to be taken more literally.

2.) This book is an allegory about Christ's love for the Church. Everything in the book stands for something else. It can be taken metaphorically as a believer's walk into deeper intimacy with God.

I think that it's a combo of two. Since God designed earthly marriage to be like the relationship between Christ and the Church (see here) I think that we can look at this book literally but also see past what is obvious and see Christ's love for the church. That being said (wow, really long intro) these are my thoughts on this verse.

First off, it becomes obvious that this love is not romantic-movie-love or fairy-tale love. This is not an average love. This love is like a flame, like the very flame of God. Water's cannot extinguish it. It isn't something that we can control. When it becomes inconvenient or hard we can't merely 'throw water on it', or even throw it into a river, and expect it to go out.

This love doesn't behave in ways we understand or like in our humanity.

It is stronger than death- it last forever and love really has the final word.

It is jealous as Sheol (the grave)- this love won't let us run to other lovers.

This love won't wash away when we feel it is getting too hot.

This love isn't impressed or controlled by our wealth.

Like it says in verse 7 "...If a man were to give all the riches of his house for love it would be utterly despised." It's not something you can buy and own as long as you want. One can never own (or control) love with wealth. Love, however, often call us to give up those things we can buy or 'earn' with our money. It's almost mocking the temporariness of money.

Because love is this way, especially God's love, something like this "Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires" (see verses here), three separate times. Because this love is so serious it shouldn't been awakened until the proper time.

This definitely applies to human relationships. It's never good to rush into relationships or marriage before the proper time. (If you want advice on when that is or how you know go find some mature married people).

I also think this applies to our relationship with God. God is the author and perfecter of our faith, not us. He knows at what pace to set us at and where we need to go. He knows what we can handle. That doesn't mean that we don't have our share of responsibility. It's ok to trust God with the process. He's been doing it for a long time.

It especially makes me think of new believers. It's easy to want to teach them everything right away and want them to understand. But it is better to trust God to 'awaken love' and bring them closer to Himself how and when he wants.

Just some thoughts. Not exactly fully formed or anything.

Ponderings of late...

No big ta da or anything. This is what I have been thinking about, studying, praying through.

In the prologue of John the idea of Jesus being the Word and the Light of men is introduced. From there it is elaborated on. (see for yourself here).
Here is an excerpt from my journal regarding Jesus being the Light:
"Personally, the phrase, "The Light has overcome the darkness." has been big for me.
I try to imagine this One in whom there is no darkness. I imagine this holy, inescapable, unstoppable light blasting sin and darkness from me.
I imagine that when we see Him or when He appears that many will shrink (1 John 2:28) from Him, much like when you turn on a light in a dark room where everyone is sleeping. How scary will it be when some look for relief in a shadow and only find light, light, light? When God appears no one can hide in the shadows any longer. Everything is exposed in the Light.

" This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God." John 3:19-21

Another theme I am studying is healing in Jesus ministry.

Some things I am aiming to see are:

• What are the pattern's Jesus established when He healed. (compassion. mercy. faith)
• If Jesus only did what He saw the Father doing (see here) then what does this say about the Father.
• To become familiar with these passages of scripture
• To apply, through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, these things to my life and ministry to others.

Lastly, here is something cool I found in an old journal (from Dec 16th, 2004)

Based on Romans 11:33

"The fact that we can understand the unknowable, search the unsearchable, and discern that which we could never before see is what makes His wisdom and knowledge so rich. It is valuable because we do not have the right to know, the capacity to understand, or the worth in ourselves to deserve the understanding of the things of God, but we can and we do. This is what makes this wisdom and knowledge infinitely valuable to our lives."

Things to get stuck on

Lately when I have been studying the Bible (sadly, this often gets pushed aside when my schedule gets crazy) there have been some things that I've gotten stuck on.
I think sometimes as Christians, or looking at Christians, there seems to be this unsaid rule that one should automatically understand scripture right as they read it and then be able to apply it immediately. Though the Holy Spirit definitely helps us understand the scriptures and give us revelation (sometimes, right away), I think it is good to be stuck sometimes. It is good to be frustrated, to really wrestle with a passage, to let it sink into your mind and bug you. It is good to read the Bible and be uncomfortable. Maybe it's uncomfortable because it seems to simple or because the wording just throws you off. Maybe it's uncomfortable because you know that you don't follow it, you fail when you try, and then you know you need help.
Here are a few things that I have been stuck on lately:

The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:1-7:29)
It feels better just to skim it and move on, but it's worth it to read it, want it, try it, fall short, ask for help and repeat over and over.
Here's an excerpt from my journal:

"The Sermon on the Mount is an unashamed challenge to the human heart. It challenges our stubborn selfishness and challenges us to reach towards the beauty, freedom, and wholeness we've always desired but never thought we could have."

One of my Religion and Philosophy/Christan Ministry professors said something regarding the Sermon on the Mount and it's message that struck me:
"The law says, "This is what I expect." Grace says, "I accept you anyway."-Dr. Craig Smith.

Something else I stumbled across today which resulted in some cognitive dissonance was John 12:44-50:
And Jesus cried out and said, "He who believes in Me, does not believe in Me but in Him who sent Me.
"He who sees Me sees the One who sent Me.
"I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness.
"If anyone hears My sayings and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world.
"He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day.
"For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak.
"I know that His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me."

This makes sense, but I'm still wrestling with it, in particular, how it effects John 13:1-20, when Jesus washes the disciples' feet. It is good to take things in context. Any good exegete will tell you that.

So I say to you, any readers of this blog, when/if you read the word-let it bother you. Don't feel guilty if you don't get it right away (even if it takes years). Keep wrestling. Keep letting it bother you. Mostly, keep asking the Holy Spirit for wisdom, revelation, and discernment.

Trusting God with Judgment

This is something I wrote a long time ago and I opened it up today and thought, "Hey, that's not bad." I might expound on it more later but I'll just publish it as it is today.

Judgment is a word our culture doesn’t like to hear except maybe in the context of a courtroom drama. Ideas like a harsh judge, an angry parent, or an angry God may come into our minds when we try to understand judgment. A lot of our ideas of judgment come from our misinterpretations and misunderstandings of the Old Testament ideas of judgment. Many times we see ourselves as the ones at the end of God’s wrath and thus shy away from this concept.

First, I want to discuss this idea of being objects of wrath. The Bible says that “God is a righteous judge, a God who expresses wrath everyday” (Psalm 7:11. NIV), so yes, it is something we need to understand. What we commonly misunderstand is who God’s wrath is against. God is a judge but he is also our advocate. God hates anything that gets in our way of getting to Him. God desires to strip away those things in the world and in our lives that block us from Him. God does judge our sin, but it is more out of desire to free us from sin than to condemn us for it.
Ephesians 2:3-5, says,
“All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying our sinful nature and following judge, desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.”
It’s clear that though we were objects of wrath, Jesus had covered our sins. Therefore, we can look at Jesus as our advocate and ask him to judge areas in our lives that are keeping us from the fullness of knowing God and bring them into alignment with His word and heart.

Our idea of God also influences the way we view judgment. If we do view God as anything less than He is, basically anything human, than we reduce his obligation and desire to judge. If God is righteous, loving, holy, and is good then He must judge. If He is righteous He will not stand that which is sinful. If He loves He will not allow the world to be consumed and ravaged by sin and the suffering that accompanies it. If He is holy He will not stand for that which profanes the good things He has created. Judgment is necessary for restoration and reconciliation. If we do not believe that these things motivate all of God’s actions then we cannot trust him.

So why else can we trust God to judge? The answer is Jesus. Jesus is our judge. In Revelation 5, a search goes out to find one worthy to open the scrolls that will release God’s judgments on the earth. But no one was found worthy, not “in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look at it” (Rev. 5:3). Finally the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, Jesus, was found to be worthy. What makes Jesus worthy? Isaiah 53 provides an answer. Jesus the man knew our sorrows and suffering as well as taking upon himself our transgression and iniquities. Jesus suffered under the wrath of God and understands the depths of God’s judgments. Also, Jesus, the Son of God, knows better than anyone the heart of the father. He too, desires that none would perish, but would know God (2 Peter 3:9).

Think what would happen if we were responsible for judging our own or others wrong doing. When it comes to human nature the idea of Occum’s Razor applies here, “Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.” The one who is fully man and fully God is perfectly suited to unleash God’s judgments. He is the truth and can be trusted with the rod of justice.

Prepare, Sow, Persevere, Reap

Galatians 6:7-9 and Hosea 10:12 are verses that God has really highlighted to me in the past few weeks and I also feel are important to Sterling College :

Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. Galatians 6:7-9

Sow with a view to righteousness,

Reap in accordance with kindness;

Break up your fallow ground,

For it is time to seek the LORD

Until He comes to rain righteousness on you.

Hosea 10:12

(fallow ground: land that has not been used for a period of time. So....expose and prepare those areas in your life that you have allowed to lie dormant to be used. This referred to Israel's idolatry so today's application could be to bring some hidden on ignored sin before God to seek forgiveness and restoration.)

Let us seek the Lord and sow in faith for things in our future, first exposing those areas that need some attention to God, expecting Him to rain upon them in righteousness.

This is the prayer of my heart: That God would prepare my heart by breaking up the hard ground, exposing and uprooting the weeds, and preparing it to receive His word, Spirit, and love, as well as help me to persevere in my side of tending to my garden.

Blessed is/Blessed are those...

So I've started a new study on verses in the Gospels on the times when phrases like "Blessed is...." or "Blessed are those...." appear. The plan is to dissect the verse, in context of course, and discover more of the depth of these scriptures as well as understanding who it is who Jesus counts as blessed. The first batch of 'blessed are' s that most people recognize is the beatitudes. From this we obviously see that Jesus doesn't look at things the way we look at them.

Yesterday I studied Matthew 11:6: "Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me." in the context of Matthew 11:2-6.
So here's what I got:
It seems that a lot of commentators think that John (the baptist), while imprisoned, had some sort of crisis of faith and so sent his disciples to ask Jesus if he really is who he says he is. I disagree. John and Jesus were relatives and in the womb John even recognized the Messiah (Yes, it's in the Bible). I think that John sent his disciples over to talk with Jesus so that they would realize that Jesus was indeed the Messiah.
So, John's disciples come up to Jesus and say, "Are you the expected One, or should we look for someone else?". Jesus, instead of just saying, "Yah, that's me," answers them with what probably would've been well known scripture from Isaiah 61 "Go and report to John what you hear and see: the BLIND RECEIVE SIGHT and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the POOR HAVE THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO THEM." (v.4-5).
Then Jesus says something that is really interesting, "Blessed is he who does not take offense at me." (v. 6). The word offense in Greek can mean "to put a stumbling block or impediment in the way, upon which another may trip and fall, metaph. to offend or to cause a person to begin to distrust and desert one whom he ought to trust and obey ." As we know and see today, Jesus can be pretty offensive. So what exactly does this mean?
I think that Jesus used scripture to show the he is the long expected Messiah because he expects John's disciples recognize him because of His word. So verse six could really say, "Blessed are those who recognize Me."
So, when we want to recognize God's work in our lives and communities we need to be rooted in the word of God. It can be easy to be offended when change comes, especially if unsuspected, but by seeing how God interacted/interacts with His people in the Word, knowing His promises, and what His thoughts and desires are we can recognize and be in line with what God is doing. If we don't recognize God we could become offended and stumble over what God intended to be a blessing. I believe that as God's children and people that we are meant to recognize God and act accordingly.

At the end of the study I wrote out this super-amplified version of verse 6:

"Blessed is he who knows what to look for, who knows how to prepare, and who is not taken by surprise at my coming or fooled by lies. Blessed is he who recognizes when I start to shift and change things in the Spirit. They will not fall, but adjust their path to walk in My ways. These are the ones who will know me and delight in my presence and faithfulness when the rest of the world is nursing scraped knees, bruises, and their injured pride as a result of their fall."

What do you think?

Immanuel

God with us. Immanuel or Emmanuel-your preference. Immanuel is a name that usually gets pulled out around Christmas time due to the prophecy in Isaiah 7:14. Jesus the Son of God, born of a virgin, put on human flesh and dwelled among men. That in itself is amazing and profound and will probably take all eternity to fully understand.
I don't think that this promise was meant to be shelved away and taken out when it's time to put up the manger set in the living room. I think this is a reality that we need to examine daily in our own lives. I'll put it another way: We can't afford to ignore this reality. Why? Because Immanuel is something bigger that the great things of the Christmas season, the appearances of God to Moses, Elijah, other prophets, and the reality of God coming to earth as a man. Running through all these things stands the desire of a Holy God to be with His sinful, broken, defiled people. That is stunning!

First off there is the original set-up of God-to-man relationship, the Garden of Eden. God created this place where his creation could interact with Him in a very real, tangible way. In Genesis 3:8 it says that God walked around the garden. Imagine living in this time before the fall. Nothing stood in the way of you being with God. God desired to be in uninterrupted relationship with man.
Fast forward to the 'historical books' section of the Bible (which some consider the boring part) where this desire is seen even in the rituals and mosaic law of the Hebrew people. Ritual cleansing, food laws, laws on dealing with lepers, and accidental defilements all had one purpose: to make it possible for God to dwell among the Israelites. Just check out these passages:

"I will dwell among the sons of Israel and will be their God." Exodus 29:45 (emphasis mine)

"Moreover, I will make My dwelling among you, and My soul will not reject you." Leviticus 26:11 (emphasis mine)

"You shall send away both male and female; you shall send them outside the camp so that they will not defile their camp where I dwell in their midst." Numbers 5:3 (emphasis mine)

"You shall not defile the land in which you live, in the midst of which I dwell; for I the LORD am dwelling in the midst of the sons of Israel. Numbers 35:34 (emphasis mine)

The passage that sums up the whole of the God's desire to be with man is, in my opinion, found in the book of Revelation chapter 21:

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away." And He who sits on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new " And He said, "Write, for these words are faithful and true." Revelation 21:1-5

A lot of people sing songs and pray prayers that speak of their desire to be in heaven. This desires aren't wrong but even greater than our desire to be in heaven, God Himself wants to dwell among us on earth! This is a desire that runs throughout the entire Bible. God longs to dwell with His people. The same God who Moses was afraid to look at because he would die wants to dwell with man. Like Jesus prayed, "Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. " John 17:24.

Not only goes God want to dwell among man, but He wants us to live in that place of perfect peace with no death, mourning, crying, or pain. He is going to wipe all those things out. All of creation will look on in wonder as God steps down from heaven and makes His home among men( Ephesians 3:10). Before this can become a reality a lot of things have to happen. Similar to the way the Israelites had to guard against defiling the camp and cleanse themselves and their camp God will bring about a cleansing and consecration like the world has never seen (see the rest of the book of revelation).

Everything that God does, whether it's raising up or bringing down leaders in the world, allowing natural disasters to happen, changing things in the church, allowing political unrest, or more personal things of everyday life it is all in accordance with His will and desire to dwell among men.

This can give us great comfort as change, pain, or other difficulties come into out life. Not only is this according to God's plan, but look at the plan He has! I would say yes to anything if that is what I will get to experience forever! It can also give us great hope. When you say 'yes' to Jesus and the plan of His Father you are saying yes to a kingdom that is not founded on manipulation or seeking power at the cost of anything or anyone, but founded on meekness and humility. You are saying yes to an eternity without death, mourning, crying or pain. You are saying yes to a God who wants people to know and experience Him, even humbling Himself to dwell among people. You are saying yes to a God who cares about every detail in our lives that seems insignificant, a God who wants to give us power to live lives of love, holiness, and peace, a God who wants to give us the best and the greatest of His kingdom and His heart.

This is our hope.

God desires to dwell with you, even in your weakness, brokenness or the mess of your life. Yes, it is true God wants to dwell with you in that place. This is our destiny!

Job Description

How would you like to be born to do a specific job? From the moment you were born you've know exactly what you're supposed to be doing. Your life is shaped by this knowledge; day to day decisions come under the scrutiny of relevance to your future. Will this help or hurt your future position? Is it really beneficial? I'm sure some feel like they have been there due to parent's hopes and expectations. What if your parents knew before you were born?

Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. But the angel said to him: "Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous--to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." Luke 1:11-17 (NIV)

Did you catch that job description? It's pretty hefty. The part that hits me hard is the very last line, "to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." This is the job description of John the Baptist, a man who Jesus called the greatest man ever born of a woman (Matthew 11:11). His job descriptionn is one of a forerunner. A forerunner is what it sounds like, one who runs ahead or makes a way before (no, not just a trendsetter), but John the Baptist is the living example of a forerunner. A little odd? Seemingly extreme? Worth it? You bet. But did you read his job description?

I may not have the same 'job description' as John the Baptist and it may not even come close. I do know that I want to live a focused life where the choices are continuously weighed against my destiny. I may not know all the details of my job description at this point but I do know that I am supposed to, "Love the Lord [my] God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength" (Deuteronomy 6:4-6) and to love others (1 John 4:19-21). I will keep doing that (at least attempting it. disclaimer: I'm not perfect) ; living with the same weight as if my actions and inactions prepare people for the Lord. In that aspect I hope to be a forerunner.

Off I go.