Okay, so lots of thoughts going so many different directions, maybe some of you, loyal readers, can help me make sense of it all (in other words, help me make sure my head is on straight about this). Reading in I Corinthians 10, intending to follow up on some thoughts from the previous post, it struck me that I might have been paying lip service to these verses for a long time without spending the effort to really get at what they were saying. People, and by that I mean at least myself (I'm a person, and i'm sure someone else has done it, sometime, somewhere), have spouted forth verse 13 as a first line of defense against temptation. It sounds so nice, so simple, to say "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." But contextualized and reexamined in light of other passages have given verse 13 a different flavor than a simple God provides a way out mentality. Paul writes this verse as a concluding statement to the trials of the Israelites in the wilderness. Verses 6-10 offer a brief catalog of temptations faced and given into and the fatal consequences. Tempted => Sinned => Died !!! Paul transitions from those points, into his concluding point on temptation, before launching off on a "therefore" in verse 14.
I have always thought of the "way out" in verse 13 as something of a giant neon arrow sign saying, Go this Way, almost a, DANGER, Bridge out ahead type message. But drawing a corellation from the Israelites in the wilderness, I think the message takes a slightly different tone. God's provision for the Israelites was nearly complete, lacking only Christ. They were fed, dressed, protected, and guided to the promised land as well as given the Law by which they were promised success and prosperity. That does not mean that the Israelites were not tempted by their earthly wants, wants which seemed real necessities. Success in resisting these temptations might come from Paul's fixing our eyes on the unseen, Christ's do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink. The example might come from Christ's resistance of the Devil by scripture in Matthew 4 (whence came much of the previous post). But I think a major component to all of these would be the message at the end of Hebrews 4 (a favorite of mine/excuse the starting with a therefore, but...):
"Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let s hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find GRACE to help us in our time of need."
Grace is the provision, grace is the key, grace is the grease that makes the whole thing tick. Grace allows everything to be permissible (going back to I Corinthians), but seeking to feed the wants a la the Wilderness Israelites, will not be beneficial, and save God's ultimate provision, the blood of Christ shed on the cross and his resurrection, the result is the death mentioned in the examples from history.
Don't feed the flesh, feed the Spirit, discipline yourself for war, and rely on the God's grace for the strength to stand. Sounds like a plan to me.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Censoring the Media
"Therefore, do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you may obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness." Rom. 6:12-13
As some of you know, I have been filtering what media I have and consume in order to be God honoring in what I listen, read, and watch. Part of the impetus for this has come from thinking again on Philippians chapters 3 and 4, 4:8 in particular. But as many of you know, unless I can really grasp the why of some command, I will always be partly unwilling to give myself over to it. So this is where the verses quoted above begin to come into play. One has a choice, whether to live according to the Spirit, or live (spiritual death) according to the flesh, whether to be an tool of wickedness, or an instrument of righteousness. Whichever one of these is fed will go a long way to determine according to which one an individual will live. In my struggles against sin, I would often wonder at the difficulty in resisting temptation, why, despite knowing something was sinful, the urge to give in was greater than the will to resist. I think a large portion of it came down to the fact that what I was listening to, reading, and watching was largely flesh oriented. It struck me the other day as I was reading an old favorite book of mine for the, oh, maybe 30th time or so, that I had probably spent more time, reading/dwelling on "secular" books in the last five years or so than the Bible or other God centered books. Easily. The same could probably be said of music and movies as well. So if we are keeping track, that's one quarter time for God, and three quarters for flesh. And I wonder about why it has been hard to cast off the old. If you keep feeding it, it's probably not going to die, and if you are feeding it more than the Spirit, well, you usually get out what you put in.
So, we are going to change what we put in, because I want changed what I put out.
As some of you know, I have been filtering what media I have and consume in order to be God honoring in what I listen, read, and watch. Part of the impetus for this has come from thinking again on Philippians chapters 3 and 4, 4:8 in particular. But as many of you know, unless I can really grasp the why of some command, I will always be partly unwilling to give myself over to it. So this is where the verses quoted above begin to come into play. One has a choice, whether to live according to the Spirit, or live (spiritual death) according to the flesh, whether to be an tool of wickedness, or an instrument of righteousness. Whichever one of these is fed will go a long way to determine according to which one an individual will live. In my struggles against sin, I would often wonder at the difficulty in resisting temptation, why, despite knowing something was sinful, the urge to give in was greater than the will to resist. I think a large portion of it came down to the fact that what I was listening to, reading, and watching was largely flesh oriented. It struck me the other day as I was reading an old favorite book of mine for the, oh, maybe 30th time or so, that I had probably spent more time, reading/dwelling on "secular" books in the last five years or so than the Bible or other God centered books. Easily. The same could probably be said of music and movies as well. So if we are keeping track, that's one quarter time for God, and three quarters for flesh. And I wonder about why it has been hard to cast off the old. If you keep feeding it, it's probably not going to die, and if you are feeding it more than the Spirit, well, you usually get out what you put in.
So, we are going to change what we put in, because I want changed what I put out.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Hmms
Funny thing reading about Moses the other night in Hebrews 11, he jsut keeps comign up as the topic of the week. So, many different thoughts came up today in various circles, and so hopefully I will remember all the ones I wanted to share. First, the sermon at church tonight was on Deut. 32, and I don't know if God has finally broken my intellectual arrogance, but these past two church services have been more spiritually filling than any that I can remember being in a long time. The other cool thing before jumping into some thoughts on the passage is how much and how perfectly fitting devotions and messages have been recently. Now, I'm beginning to think that the passages might always have been perfectly fitting, I'm just beginning to figure out how to listen to what God is saying. It's exciting whatever it is. But to Deuteronomy.
What struck me most is something that Mr. BZ (Buzz... new nickname?) and I have been discussing to a certain extent over the past couple months, and that is investigating the purpose of the Law, and for myself in particular, the manner in which Christ fulfills and completes the process of the Law. So in verses 46-52 we have Moses' statement of the prupose of the Law to the Israelites, and then the consequences for Moses in not fully honoring God. Moses commands the people "to obey carefully all the words of this law. They are not just idle words for you-they are your life. By them you will live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess." The Law here being intended to be taken into the promised land, and this is enforced to Joshua in his commission from the Lord in the first chapter where in verses 7 and 8 Joshua is commanded " be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night (Phil. 4:8 anyone?), so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful." Notice in both places the intetion and purpose is beneficial.
So what do we do with the fact that Moses, as the giver of the Law, called a servant of God, whom the Lord knew face to face, a prophet with no equal, was excluded from entering into the promised land because, according to Deut. 32:51, "you broke faith with me... and because you did not uphold my holiness among the Israelites." We know from the Transfiguration accounts in Mark and Luke, that Moses is in the presence of Christ divine, a connection that I had missed until pointed out tonight at church; so the question then arises, how does Moses go from dying outside the promised land to the Promised Land? The answer to that appears in John 1:17, again pointed out tonight, "For the law came through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ."
So here are my thoughts on one of the ways in which that can all fit together. The Law is intended to be beneficial, but when we measure ourselves against the Law for the sake of judging righteousness, we fall short. So if we are pursuing righteousness for the sake of righteousness, we will be frustrated forever by our lack of righteousness (this is more a note to myself here). The Law exposes our unrighteousness, exposes in us the need for grace, and it is by that very grace, freely given at great cost,that we can then begin to live lives of righteousness. If our falling short points to "how great our Father's love for us, how vast beyond all measure," then the Law is providing for us the greatest benefit in that it drives us to a deeper love of God. If the more and more we realize how we fall short, if our flesh becomes so disturbed by the drawing near of the Spirit that the discomfort becomes palpable, and more and more rejoice then in the grace given us and it provokes thankfulness and love, then the pursuit of the Law becomes an excerise in love of which an outcome is the holy living we desire. In other words, the Law is not the end, but a means to point towards Christ.
As I read in Hebrews 12:1-12 the other night, "let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith..." Keep in mind that the pursuit of holiness is not an end in itself, but it is to keep off any hinderances from deepening my love for Chirst, fixing my eyes on Jesus instead of the Law. Furtherore, rejoice in hardship and discipline, because the punishment of correction is a mark of a Father's love, for how can it be but beneficial to be kept from foolish sin.
What struck me most is something that Mr. BZ (Buzz... new nickname?) and I have been discussing to a certain extent over the past couple months, and that is investigating the purpose of the Law, and for myself in particular, the manner in which Christ fulfills and completes the process of the Law. So in verses 46-52 we have Moses' statement of the prupose of the Law to the Israelites, and then the consequences for Moses in not fully honoring God. Moses commands the people "to obey carefully all the words of this law. They are not just idle words for you-they are your life. By them you will live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess." The Law here being intended to be taken into the promised land, and this is enforced to Joshua in his commission from the Lord in the first chapter where in verses 7 and 8 Joshua is commanded " be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night (Phil. 4:8 anyone?), so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful." Notice in both places the intetion and purpose is beneficial.
So what do we do with the fact that Moses, as the giver of the Law, called a servant of God, whom the Lord knew face to face, a prophet with no equal, was excluded from entering into the promised land because, according to Deut. 32:51, "you broke faith with me... and because you did not uphold my holiness among the Israelites." We know from the Transfiguration accounts in Mark and Luke, that Moses is in the presence of Christ divine, a connection that I had missed until pointed out tonight at church; so the question then arises, how does Moses go from dying outside the promised land to the Promised Land? The answer to that appears in John 1:17, again pointed out tonight, "For the law came through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ."
So here are my thoughts on one of the ways in which that can all fit together. The Law is intended to be beneficial, but when we measure ourselves against the Law for the sake of judging righteousness, we fall short. So if we are pursuing righteousness for the sake of righteousness, we will be frustrated forever by our lack of righteousness (this is more a note to myself here). The Law exposes our unrighteousness, exposes in us the need for grace, and it is by that very grace, freely given at great cost,that we can then begin to live lives of righteousness. If our falling short points to "how great our Father's love for us, how vast beyond all measure," then the Law is providing for us the greatest benefit in that it drives us to a deeper love of God. If the more and more we realize how we fall short, if our flesh becomes so disturbed by the drawing near of the Spirit that the discomfort becomes palpable, and more and more rejoice then in the grace given us and it provokes thankfulness and love, then the pursuit of the Law becomes an excerise in love of which an outcome is the holy living we desire. In other words, the Law is not the end, but a means to point towards Christ.
As I read in Hebrews 12:1-12 the other night, "let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith..." Keep in mind that the pursuit of holiness is not an end in itself, but it is to keep off any hinderances from deepening my love for Chirst, fixing my eyes on Jesus instead of the Law. Furtherore, rejoice in hardship and discipline, because the punishment of correction is a mark of a Father's love, for how can it be but beneficial to be kept from foolish sin.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Light and Hope
So I was reading in Hebrews 11 last night, reviewing those members of the "hall of faith," having been ruminating over why the individuals who were selected to be mentioned by name were included, and some excluded. In particular, what lead me to Hebrews (and will lead me into Genesis and Exodus tonight in all likelihood) was the persons of Abraham and Moses. I was thinking about those stalwarts of faith each having a point in their lives they probably regretted, Moses having murdered and Abraham's sleeping with Hagar.
It was odd how though I planned to review all of chapter 11, trying to find the ties of faith from one example to the next and see how God used imperfect vessels, vessels who acted out of perfect obedience in a couple instances, or maybe even in just one event, in order to fulfill His plans, I actually began reading in verse 25. In talking about Moses, it is written;
"He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king's anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible."
It made me stop, comparing the descriptions from verse 26 to the beginning of chapter 12. In verse 26, Moses casts off his temporary inheritance, that of a position as honored amongst the Egyptians as a son of Pharaoh's daughter, by killing the Egyptian, in order to be restored to his true inheritance as that of a Hebrew, sharing in their sufferings. Christ, as mentioned in chapter 12, "who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of God." Christ cast off his divine position to humbly be born a man, took the sins of the world upon himslef and broke apart the Trinity (if we accept the proposition that by accepting the sins of the world upon him, Christ became separated from God and this is what caused his death, not just the act of being crucified), so that we might gain an inheritance in heaven and Christ received his reward. I don't know if there is a further lesson to be drawn from the parallels, but it struck me all the same.
Anyways, there is so much in those two chapters of Hebrews that I love, and I just thought I would share a little thought from it. Maybe some other day I'll talk about some more.
It was odd how though I planned to review all of chapter 11, trying to find the ties of faith from one example to the next and see how God used imperfect vessels, vessels who acted out of perfect obedience in a couple instances, or maybe even in just one event, in order to fulfill His plans, I actually began reading in verse 25. In talking about Moses, it is written;
"He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king's anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible."
It made me stop, comparing the descriptions from verse 26 to the beginning of chapter 12. In verse 26, Moses casts off his temporary inheritance, that of a position as honored amongst the Egyptians as a son of Pharaoh's daughter, by killing the Egyptian, in order to be restored to his true inheritance as that of a Hebrew, sharing in their sufferings. Christ, as mentioned in chapter 12, "who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of God." Christ cast off his divine position to humbly be born a man, took the sins of the world upon himslef and broke apart the Trinity (if we accept the proposition that by accepting the sins of the world upon him, Christ became separated from God and this is what caused his death, not just the act of being crucified), so that we might gain an inheritance in heaven and Christ received his reward. I don't know if there is a further lesson to be drawn from the parallels, but it struck me all the same.
Anyways, there is so much in those two chapters of Hebrews that I love, and I just thought I would share a little thought from it. Maybe some other day I'll talk about some more.
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