‘Tis grace has brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.
One of the most common commands given thoughout the Bible is “Fear not.” One of the most common promises, repeated over and over in the Bible, is the promise of God’s goodness. The Hebrew word checed, variously translated as goodness, kindness, mercy, favour, grace or steadfast love is used over 240 times in the Old Testament alone. We don’t have a word in English that combines the ideas of strength, steadfast love and generosity, so we have to make do with several words or a word combination. Lovingkindness is one of them.
Praise the Lord. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love [checed] endures forever. (Psalm 106:1)
The New Testament word charis is usually translated as grace.
And God is able to make all grace [charis] abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance [perisseuo] for every good work. (2 Corinthians 9:8)
The word translated “abound” here, persisseuo, means abundant, overflowing, exceeding a fixed number, excelling, exuberant, extremely rich, over and above, hyper. What is grace that is not “hyper?” Almost enough grace? Barely adequate grace? Scratch-and-dent grace? OK, but you’d better watch it next time grace? Is there anything about God’s grace that is less than amazing?
Can we honestly give God too much credit and not be overwhelmed with thankfulness and praise for every good thing He gives? Can we dare to freely join his His big picture plan with abandon?
Can we stop blaming God for the consequences of our own sinful choices? And can we please stop attributing to Him the works of the evil one, the thief who comes to steal kill and destroy? What is it that overcomes the evil one’s accusations and constant messages of fear and doom and the oldest doubt in the world, “Did God really say?” Is it not by the power of the blood of Jesus Christ, by telling our God-stories, and being willing to voluntarily love Him back with everything He has given us, including our very lives?
And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. (Revelation 12:11)
God knows we seem to need to hear both messages a lot –Fear not, and His lovingkindness endures forever. The assurance of checed is given 240 times in the Old Testament alone. Strangely I find both messages stir up a deep anger in many people who consider themselves to be dutiful Christians. I’m always surprised when stories of God’s goodness in times of trouble when we rely on him, and times of need when we expect Him to give us provisions for the tasks he assigns us, elicit angry responses of “Yeah, but….”
Still, I can’t condemn them when at times I find myself worrying about the future. I hear the Lord asking me, So what has brought you through troubles and tribulations so far?
Grace. Your lovingkindness.
Then don’t be afraid.
Grace, abundant, amazing, overflowing, steadfast, loving, kind, merciful grace will continuously be with you, because I have promised to never leave you, and checed and charis are part of My character. I don’t lie. I don’t change. I AM love. I give abundant grace.
I promise. That’s why I gave my only Son. That’s why my Holy Spirit lives in you. I AM love.
I was driving down a familiar road yesterday when I saw this warning sign. I had a choice to keep going and see if I could find a way through, or change my plans, turn around and go back to the start of this road. I stopped to consider my options. A couple a big trucks with high clearance passed me and plowed through on the left shoulder of the road.
I turned back.
I’ve been praying about a personal problem that keeps recurring in my life (weight gain and loss and gain and loss and gain… if you really must know). I’m tired of it, (way beyond frustrated, as a matter of fact) but I haven’t seen any solution but to buckle down and try harder and go down the same dieting [self-imposed starvation] road yet again. As I drove back these thoughts came to mind.
“And how’s that working for ya? Working harder, I mean. Re-doubling your efforts?”
Well, it hasn’t worked in the long run yet. In fact every time I put in maximum effort, within a year or two it’s worse and I get more discouraged.
“And how long has this pattern been going on?”
Decades.
“Maybe it’s time to re-think. Maybe the problem is not the problem. Maybe the problem is only here to reveal the real problem. Maybe it’s time to quit plowing through and go back to the beginning.”
We can choose, determine, will, discipline ourselves, make an effort, decide, toil… and as soon as another crisis requires focused willpower, we realize that character quality is a limited quantity in us. We can’t try any harder.
For many years I was taught, “Love is something that you do,” and “Love is a choice.” I suppose that applies to doing right by myself as much as doing right by others and doing right by God. But is that really love? Or is that a burden?
In the story of the Prodigal Son, when the younger brother spent his inheritance and returned, humbled, to his father to ask for a job as servant, the elder brother was thrown into a crisis. When his father accepted his brother back without punishment (or a five-year disciplinary waiting period in which he proved he was willing to submit and work harder at earning trust and paying back what he owed) the elder brother was forced to question the basis of his relationship with his Father. He was crushed and angry. He realized his years of faithful service, his choice to put duty ahead of pleasure, his sense of entitlement based on job performance and “doin’ it right the first time” brought him no more love and reward than his wayward brother received. The crisis revealed his own loveless heart and fragile relationship with both his father and brother.
There are times when the feelings aren’t there, when maintaining a relationship (even with oneself) is a matter of choosing to do things consistent with the way a loving person would act. A relationship based on willpower is a rocky one though. When a crisis demands a re-direction of energy the truth comes out. Marriage counselors often ask the question, “What was it that attracted you to your mate in the first place?” Sometimes we forget, and we need to go back and remember the nights when we talked on the phone for hours because we didn’t want to be the first to hang up. Sometimes we need to remember those feelings when no one else mattered, when we thought of nothing else but what would please our loved one and the giddy joy it gave us when they smiled, or when their knock on our door thrilled our hearts.
The people in the church at Ephesus looked like they had a marvelous relationship with God. They did everything required of them, and more. They worked hard, they maintained high moral standards, they weeded out false influences, they patiently endured, they were loyal and unwavering in their application of will-power. But it wasn’t good enough. Their heart just wasn’t in it anymore. They had somehow lost their passionate emotion-engaging love for Christ.
Through the prophet Isaiah God warned a people who He said praised Him with their lips, but whose hearts were far from Him, that the days of doing the right things for the wrong reasons would soon be over. He was blocking that path. He sent the same message through the angel who spoke to John about the church at Ephesus:
Write down My words, and send them to the messenger of the church in Ephesus. “These are the words of the One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks and moves among the golden lampstands: “I know your deeds, your tireless labor, and your patient endurance. I know you do not tolerate those who do evil. Furthermore, you have diligently tested those who claim to be emissaries, and you have found that they are not true witnesses. You have correctly found them to be false. I know you are patiently enduring and holding firm on behalf of My name. You have not become faint.
“However, I have this against you: you have abandoned your first love. Do you remember what it was like before you fell? It’s time to rethink and change your ways; go back to how you first acted. However, if you do not return, I will come quickly and personally remove your lampstand from its place… ” (Revelation 2 The Voice)
For a group that would pass many people’s criteria on what a healthy church looks like this is a pretty harsh word. I think removing the lampstand meant removing the light that they didn’t want hidden under a basket. It was the light that attracted people. Loss of the lampstand meant loss of influence.
It’s hard for those who have worked hard to spread the gospel, guard against heresy, and maintain standards to see those who have lived carelessly welcomed, accepted, honoured and given gifts beyond anything they have ever known. (I suppose it’s like the way nothing makes me madder or more resentful than the way people who have never struggled with weight issues, or spent years dieting, offer weight-loss advice as they freely enjoy a sandwich with bread on both sides.) I do believe we will soon see an influx of “fringe people” returning to experience the gracious forgiveness and generosity of the Father. It will be a time of crisis that reveals many church-type people’s hearts though. Older brothers (and sisters) need to hear the message now: Everything in the Father’s house is already yours. It is not reserved for some day in the distant future after you go to heaven and receive your inheritance. God sees and appreciates your hard work. The right words and actions are there, but the heart has long been cold. The heart is what really matters. He cares enough to post a brightly coloured message that continuing to go down this road is not going to work.
If you are a big fan of the book and have read and re-read it, you will be disappointed (as all fans are when they see a movie of “their” book). However, taking artistic license into consideration, the essentials are there, and for people who are not familiar with the story, it’s a great movie. My hope is that it will make them want to read the book.
This is how Paul described the essentials of the good news of the Kingdom of God story: “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas [Peter], then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.”(1 Corinthians 15:3) Except for showing the 500 and the Apostle Paul those elements were all there.
There were a number of times in the film when I had to shut my inner critic off, much the way my husband has to learn to shut his bad science alarm off, my sister-in-law has to shut her bad medical practice alarm off, and I also have had to turn my bad singing technique alarm off -or at least way down- if we wish to see the story of the film or TV show director wants us to see. Most people who are not familiar with the factual details of a well-known story, like complete dialogue or setting and chronology, are not bothered by their absence. But since Twitter didn’t exist and Jesus and the boys (and the women who followed as well) didn’t leave dated moment by moment accounts of their activities there are a great many details the great editor decided were not necessary for us to know in order to grasp the essentials of the life and mission of Jesus Christ either (or Yeshua ha Meshiach from which we also get the name Joshua.) We know he was not an extremely good-looking European with amazing dazzling white teeth. Isaiah wrote that the Messiah had no extraordinary physical attributes that we should be attracted to him on that basis. People were probably shorter in those days, but I have a feeling if a 4’9″ 33-year old Woody Allen look-alike with a very, very dark tan and nasally voice were cast in the role western audiences would have just as much trouble relating. John, his beloved close friend, wrote at the end of his account of Jesus’ life: “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book;but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”
If the purpose of the film was to create interest in Jesus Christ for those who have not heard, that they might believe, then I’m good with that. I am not part of the target audience, so I will not criticize it for not being all I would wish it to be.
There was one aspect of the film, however, that I had, until recently, accepted as accurate simply because I knew no better. Since childhood I have seen films of Bible stories set in Israel which depicted the land as a dusty barren desert where people picked their way through rocky paths in their sandalled feet. Frankly I wondered why anyone would call this the Promised Land. I often thought there are a lot nicer places in the world to fight over.
Then I went to Israel a few months ago. I was amazed when I saw rich green and golden fields, orchards and vineyards, forests, and, in the north, lush semi-tropical gardens and jungle-like greenery. We were so happy to be able go with a tour leader who was also a botany prof and who had lived in the area doing research on native plants for ten years. He told us that many areas closer to Jerusalem were de-forested and over-grazed during the era of occupation by the Ottoman Turks, but in the time of Christ the hills of the northern half of the country were probably covered with natural forests. It was more like Sherwood Forest than the planet of Dune. (Actually it reminded me very much of the Okanagan Lake area in British Columbia -if the lake was a lot wider and the climate warm enough to grow mangoes and dates.)
So, just in case, like me, you were also under the impression that Galilee was a large greenish puddle in the middle of a barren Moroccan landscape, I want to show you some photos of the area around the lake where Jesus spent most of his ministry. If you want to check on other details of the story, may I suggest you read the book? It’s been a best-seller for centuries.
Galilee Region, south of lake
I took this photo around the area on the north end of the lake which scholars believe is the most likely place for the Sermon on the Mount to have been preached since there is a natural bowl-type shape in the hill below this view.
If memory serves, this is a village near Migdal on the west side of the lake. Not exactly a barren collection of brown rocks.
Tiberias street in the morning.
This is what is left of Capernaum (Capher -house- of Nahum). The black stones are volcanic and are from the time of Christ. The third century synagogue with lighter stones was built on top of the black stones of the synagogue where Jesus taught and healed. Capernaum was a border town on the north side of the lake near the entry point of the Jordan River. The the wealthy Roman cities of the Decapolis were on the east side of the lake (now the Golan Heights). It is possible that the reason the Roman centurion who asked Jesus to heal his servant suggested that Jesus didn’t need to come with him because, just like today, crossing the border could be a hassle.
The north end of the lake where the river brings in nutrients that attract fish. This was likely the area where some of the disciples were fishermen since Peter’s mother-in-law’s house was in nearby Capernaum.
The view from the area known as Bethsaida.
Gardens. Not desert.
Kursi on the east side where scholars believe the demons left the Gadarene man to enter the swine that ran over the cliff.
Date farm
Dawn from Tiberias
This is not in the valley of the Galilee (Or Lake Kinneret as it is called now) It is actually a view from a hill on outskirts of Nazareth. It has a dramatic drop and would be a good place for shoving a person off if he offended you by saying Isaiah’s prophecy about healing the blind and lame and setting the captives free had been fulfilled in your hearing.
This is Caesarea Philippi, a significant journey north of the Galilee. It is a lush green area at the foot of the snow-topped Mount Hermon (which some say is also the most likely place for the transfiguration to have occurred). Springs at the base form the headwaters of one of the three tributaries that make up the Jordan River. This is where Jesus took the disciples to ask them, “Who do you say that I am?”
In the background you can see a cavern, which used to be part of the Roman temple to Pan. It partially collapsed after an earthquake, but in the time of Jesus it was a bottomless pit called, even then, “The Gates of Hell” where living sacrifices were thrown in. Caesarea Philippi was a Roman city with foreign architecture, culture and a religion imposed by a wealthy conqueror. It must have been an intimidating place for poor Jews to go, yet this is where Jesus took them to confirm his identity.
“Thou art the Christ, the Anointed One, Messiah.” said Peter
And Jesus said, “Upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
The creek is filled with water again. Sometimes the waters are gently stirred back to life, and sometimes spring happens suddenly and dramatically . Last week we shivered in the deep, deep freeze of winter. Some nights felt like the coldest nights of the season and snow fell upon mounds of snow. But a couple of days ago temperatures rose so rapidly that the snow turned to rain and the ice melted rapidly, turning streets into impromptu streams and lakes. Since the ground is still frozen the water is making a mess of our town -and a lot of it is pouring into people’s basements. Lots of pleas for plumbers and pumps and wet shop vacuum cleaners are going out on Facebook today. We have a small lagoon in the center of the family room ourselves.
So, the thing we have longed for, a break in the cold, is finally here, and it’s messy and inconvenient and costly – but the prospect of promise fulfilled feels so good.
Change is like that sometimes.
Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.
When is a revival needed? When carelessness and unconcern keep the people asleep.
Author: Billy Sunday
Revival is the visitation of God which brings to life Christians who have been sleeping and restores a deep sense of God’s near presence and holiness. Thence springs a vivid sense of sin and a profound exercise of heart in repentance, praise, and love, with an evangelistic outflow.
Author: J.I. Packer
When the light shines, it exposes even the dark and shadowy things and turns them into pure reflections of light. This is why they sing, Awake, you sleeper! Rise from your grave, And the Anointed One will shine on you.(Ephesians 5:13, 14 The Voice)
Really missing my beautiful blogging friend today. Deborah Avila, The Girl with the Pen, from Ye Shall Know Me By My Fruits has been freed from a body that was totally incapacitated. Her poetry touched me deeply. This poem especially. She sings.
“You know what, Nana? Leaders need helpers. A leader needs helpers cuz if they don’t have helpers they don’t have anyone to lead.”
I was playing dolls with my four-year old granddaughter when she said this out of the blue. I don’t know where it came from; perhaps she was processing what it meant to have a turn being “the helper” at preschool, but knowing the Lord’s love of revealing wisdom to children he may have just been joining us on the living room floor.
I have myself been processing what leadership and helpership mean in the context of learning to submit to one another (Ephesians 5:21).
Am I the only one who has images of whips and ridiculous leather costumes or Inquisitor’s tools pop unbidden into my less than pure mind when I hear the word “submission?”
Am I the only one who is embarrassed by what non-Christians must see when they look at competitiveness and ambition between “ministries” seeking more bums in seats?
Am I the only one who tires of authoritarian-style leadership where the gulf between platform people and audience people grows wider?
Am I the only one who groans at the disrespect and harsh criticism of people in the public eye lobbed by self-labeled experts who have no actual relationship with those they seem to need to fix?
Am I the only one who cringes when I hear another stern message that lords anatomy over character and calls for people making up half the population of the world to sit down and shut up without mentioning their own obligation to submit to one another and to love sacrificially like Jesus?
Am I the only one to sigh with disappointment when members of that population lob scathing incendiaries right back?
Am I the only one who tires of arguments about who merits the role of leader -or leader of leaders- in a hierarchical system that places official credentials above the ability to love -or on the other hand, the ability to demonstrate well-intended kindness above both knowledge of the scriptures and the character of God in an intimate relationship with the Holy?
Who is a leader in the big C Church?
Perhaps a leader is someone who helps his or her helpers.
No doubt there is a need for leadership. In the days of Judges when everyone “did what was right in their own eyes” not many people “did right” by others and me-first divisions resulted in all sorts of nastiness. Paul wrote that not many should strive to become teachers realizing that a higher degree of accountability would be applied to teachers, but implied that some definitely should become teachers like Priscilla and Aquila whom he honoured. He also gave lists of qualities to look for in leaders and the kind of gifts needed in leadership (none of which were of any use without the essential qualification of the ability to love). The Bible states clearly that consideration, honour and respect (including, in some cases, financial respect) ought to be given to leaders.
I heard a recognized leader (one who promotes others above himself) say that all sorts of people from unexpected (usually anti-Christian) backgrounds were showing up at their gatherings. His response? “Everyone is welcome! Not everyone gets to preach.”
A man I admire asked me to proof-read his resumé when he applied for a position as lead pastor of a church. I was impressed that he said, essentially, “These are my gifts, and these are not.”
“When it comes to [one area in particular],” he wrote light-heartedly, “I believe in the priesthood of believers and raising up others ready to use their gifts.” He went on to say, “I do not own the pulpit and if someone in the congregation is demonstrating a gift for building up others through public speaking, I will encourage them to do so.” Then he added, “I believe in the priesthood of all believers, but not in the leadership of all believers -until they are equipped.”
Who determines when leaders are ready? A board of examiners from the school for hoop-jumpers? Well for some this might be the process God chose for them to learn to give up their own desires and to go the second mile. For others such methods become a way to disqualify those not intellectually-oriented enough to attend seminary, but who still have a lot of wisdom to share. While recognizing and respecting a dire need for teachers with the calling to study and to teach accurately, I seriously wonder if the Lord meant leadership to be confined to those with the ability to be sermonizers.
I don’t know who said this (care to help me here?) but I love this quote: A man who leads when no one follows is going for a walk.
I wonder if a true leader is chosen by those who, by a willingness to help him or her, demonstrate the willingness to follow. I wonder if a willingness to both lead and follow is the result of the willingness to be helped. I wonder if recognizing a leader is recognizing in someone the ability to raise others up to become leaders themselves by helping to develop whatever gifts God has placed in them.
My little granddaughter taught me to play a new game I was not familiar with. I helped her set up the board and the cards when she showed me where they went. She had no problem respectfully correcting me when I did something wrong. I had no problem submitting to her leadership. She was the expert here. When we were finished the game, she submitted to my expertise and helped set the table to get ready for a meal featuring her favourite entré , macaroni and cheese. Helpers helping helpers. Leaders submitting to each other.
A little child shall lead them.
Thank you, Abba, that You reveal yourself in whomever You choose. No wonder Jesus did a happy dance when He saw You do this.
At that moment Jesus himself was inspired with joy, and exclaimed, “O Father, Lord of Heaven and earth, I thank you for hiding these things from the clever and the intelligent and for showing them to mere children! Yes, I thank you, Father, that this was your will.” (Luke 10:21 Phillips)
Facts: It’s -20, still snowing and I spent yet another night exercising my abs with a cough that refuses to submit to mind-fogging cough suppressants.
Reality: Spring is coming and poppies will bloom again. God is good and I choose to remember His benefits by re-blogging a photo of these glorious flowers.
Sometimes the organizations we form to celebrate connections end up separating us.
I realized this in the first grade, the day our friend Diana showed up at school after lunch with her short pixie cut hair full of bobby pins trying desperately to hold tiny braids together. It looked ridiculous. Earlier that day four or five of us were walking arm in arm in arm as little girls do, in a kind of six year-old chorus line. We were members of the French braid club. We had all worn braids that day and formed a band of sisters on that basis. I hadn’t noticed until Diana returned from lunch, that our basis for commonality excluded a sweet girl we all loved.
I think denominations are like that. At first we are excited about finding we share common beliefs with…
Charis: Subject to Change 