The Gift of the Holy Spirit

I think God enjoys drama, good drama, in the healthy sense of raising everyone's expectations

Free Indeed!

Luke 4:18-19  "“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
    for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released,
    that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free,
 and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come."  

Jesus quoted from Isaiah to state the purpose of his ministry (setting all humanity free), but they have

Living in the W

It's been a tough year for a lot of us.  My dad had a pacemaker put in, then had complications.  Several of my friends have

Where You Really Live

Where do you live?  Some people live in a house, some in an apartment or a trailer or a condo.  Some live in huge refugee camps, some in shanty towns, and some out in the open.  But the Bible says everyone lives in

The Bull's-Eye

Target shooters like to be able to hit the center of the target, called the "bull's-eye" or bullseye.  And if they get especially sharp, they can hit the center of the bullseye.  So if you wanted to know what the exact center

Immanu-El, Part 2

Last week I wrote about the 'big background story' of humanity and salvation:  Adam and Eve, the Fall, and the nation of Israel as the foundation of what God would reveal in the Messiah.  Now we move to the actuality:  how God came to be among us, "God with us" as Isaiah 7:14 says.  If God is perfect and we most emphatically are not, how can the two come together?

It's simple, yet profound and earth-changing:  The two come together in Jesus, Immanu-el or "God-with-us," the Son of God born into human flesh as the firstborn son of a peasant girl.  Luke 1:26-38 says that Mary's womb became the growing place for a child who would be called the Son of the Most High.  Matthew's gospel records the angel telling her specifically that this child was fulfillment of the Isaiah prophecy, in Mat. 1:18-23.  What a strange event:  God, the Creator, coming into his creation to become a human, just like his other human creations!  For the first time, the Almighty God became limited by being part of his creation.  God, who had sent prophets and leaders to speak for him, this time came to speak for himself (Heb. 1:1-3). 

When God came into human flesh, he joined himself completely with humanity (Heb. 2:14-18)!  Jesus (whose name means "Yahweh saves") was both fully human (he was able to experience all our human life, Heb. 4:15) and he was fully God (Heb. 1:3).  So when he died on the cross, Jesus the man was able to die just like all humans; but when Jesus the Son of God died, he died for your sins and mine, not his own (Heb 2:14-15).  To put it another way, God became one with humans, so that humans could become one with God.

It was God's plan before time began to adopt us, to give us his nature (Eph. 1:3-6) which is a completely free gift (Eph. 2:8-9) and cannot ever be earned.  It was through Jesus, who was the perfect human and is the only human ever to be perfectly accepted by God, "When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven" (Heb. 1:3).

Because of Immanu-El -- Jesus -- all of us can come to God completely without fear (Heb 4:16) any time.  We are fully accepted and loved by God (John 17:23) because of his Son.  Even when we've made a mess of our lives, even when we look more like the Three Stooges than anything else, even when we're ashamed of our own behavior, we are still fully loved by God, because of Immanu-El, God with us, Jesus the Christ. 

And that's the meaning of Christmas!

Extreme Personal Makeover

Our cats are an interesting study in selfishness.  There's not much sharing between Haley and Susie, just a me-first, outta-my-way animal instinct.  Unfortunately, that is how I often feel too.  Yesterday, The Wonderful Joanne and I had what we call a "meaningful discussion."  I thought she was pressuring me into purchasing something, and reacted strongly with why I didn't think it was a good idea.  When I finally said I was sorry, it was mostly by complaining about the way I thought she had treated me.  Only later did I realize that I had simply defended myself again.  So this morning, another apology was in order, a real one this time.

See, the problem is not that we don't know what to do, it's that we are so filled with self-seeking that we don't let love -- outward-flowing, other-centered giving without seeking a return -- guide us first. This gets back to what I've been writing and speaking about lately:  that the Triune God had determined before time began (before we are 'good enough' to deserve his love) to adopt us into his circle of love and self-giving (Eph. 1:3-11, etc); and although he loves us right now, right where we are, he is determined not to leave us in our self-created pain.  So he sent his Son, whom we celebrate during Advent and Christmas for coming into the world, not only to pay for our sins but to give us a Person to love and follow.

"Following Jesus" is a daily walk of seeing ourselves, seeing Jesus, and admitting where we don't measure up to him.  Then surrendering (it sounds simple but it's one of the hardest things we can do) surrendering this part of us that demands gratification so Jesus can give us rest, peace and assurance from himself instead.

What are some of those me-first, outta-my-way human instincts? Paul writes in Galatians 5:19-21, "When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God."  Our sins -- these and many more -- are forgiven in Christ, but God is on a campaign to renovate our inner selves, at the deepest level.  To restore us to what humans were at Creation, and to what we all are, in reality, because we are now "in Christ." 

"Following Jesus" includes being led by his Spirit to have his inner desires: "So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves...the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires...Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives" (Gal. 5:16,17,25). That's how the surrender thing works.

You've not arrived yet at perfection, and neither have I.  But let's be encouraged:  we are on the journey with Jesus, and he is the one who not only knows the way, he IS the way (John 14:1-10) and he has shown us that way.  Will you follow him with me?

Trust and Rest

We in the Western societies spend our lives pursuing more, better, bigger and higher.  We stay caffienated in order to be more alert and "productive."  A bumper sticker claims "He who dies with the most toys wins" (wins what? we wonder).  A poster advertising a workout club says "You can rest when you're dead."  A John Wayne movie has him kicking people awake long before the sun is up, telling them they are "burning daylight."  We think societies that take a mid-day break -- a two-hour lunch or a nap -- are wasting time.  We think our lives are measured by how much we can accomplish.  And sometimes we think we have to apply the same amount of effort toward "pleasing God." 

As a fulfillment of the original Sabbath command to Israel, Jesus calls us in Matt. 11:28-30 to come and rest in him: “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”  That's an enigma to us:  how do you rest in a person?  What does being humble and gentle have to do with rest?  How can the 'yoke' (an instrument for carrying heavy burdens) be easy to bear?  How can we rest while still carrying a load, even a light one?  And what if, while you're resting, you're really supposed to be doing something more productive?

The answer is that we must learn to trust in Jesus, not in ourselves.  That is the essence of our salvation (Eph. 2:8-10 etc.) but even more, it is the essence of daily life in Christ, the new life we are called into (Gal. 2:20).  Jesus doesn't tell us "come and rest, then go work more."  He simply says come and rest.  Robert Mulholland, Jr. in Invitation to a Journey refers us to Psalm 131, a song encouraging us to trust.  Verse 2 says "I have calmed and quieted myself, like a weaned child who no longer cries for its mother’s milk. Yes, like a weaned child is my soul within me."  The child is content just to sit quietly on his mother's lap, knowing he is secure there.  That's the kind of trust we are to learn.

 Life today is not just "preparation for heaven" as some put it, like prepping for an entrance exam.  Our lives are meant to be a living relationship of deepening love for God through his Son Jesus; learning to listen to him and respond; learning to trust Christ for everything, no matter how small or large.  As we learn to trust, we can rest from the frantic activity we use to seek God's approval, or even 'get ahead in the world.' 

"Just trust."  Quick to say, a lifetime to learn.  What will you surrender to God today, trusting him to handle it for you? 

Occupy...Something!

My friend Michael Duduit, who writes regularly on preaching and is editor of Preaching magazine, talks about this latest protest movement that started in Wall Street and has since "occupied" a couple of dozen city parks across the nation.  He says there's a better solution than protesting the amount of money somebody else makes or how little attention is given to the average citizen.  Michael says "Here's a better bet: Occupy Worship. Meet the One who alone can satisfy your needs and breach the chasm caused by sin, and the best news is you don't even have to go to New York or any other city to Occupy Worship—you can demonstrate anywhere!"

I like the way Michael thinks.  He reminds us that even if all the money earned by all the investment bankers and all the highly-paid executives of all the companies that are the target of these protests was spread around to the poor, it still wouldn't be enough.  (Not to mention, most of the poor in the US have a thousand times more than the true poor overseas.)  Why not?  Because humanly, we never have enough.  Even those highly-paid executives feel their lives would be better if they just made, say, 10% more.  The solution, Michael rightly says, is to worship.

Now, by worship, Michael and I don't mean to turn on your favorite Christian song or hymn, sing along loudly, and pray.  Closing our eyes and praying doesn't make our problems go away (it doesn't work for Tim Tebow in the backfield either).  No, we're talking a deep, focused, sincere, whole-hearted, whole-life surrender to the One who owns eternity and has already accepted you, dear reader, as his beloved child.  As we've been studying lately in the Beatitudes, a life "in Christ" means we have full access to the blessings of living in the love and acceptance of the Father through the Spirit (John 17:20-23, Col. 1:24-27, etc).  "Christ is in you" says Paul, and he's not talking some metaphysical claptrap or fuzzy idea, but a spiritual reality. 

Life -- real, authentic life -- is lived out in that reality, minute by minute.  Not just "what would Jesus do?" but "Jesus, what are you doing and what would you have me do?"  Offering ourselves as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1) is what Paul calls "truly the way to worship him."  Focusing on whole-life worship helps us understand that the momentary troubles of this life really are momentary.  We don't ignore them, we work on them with the passion that Jesus had cleaning out the moneychangers (the honest and the dishonest together) from the Temple, in John 2:13-17, and the love he had when he healed the sick and provided bread for thousands. 

Want something to occupy in protest of this world's sickness?  Occupy, and be occupied by, Jesus-in-you, with everything you've got, and watch what happens!  (And come back and tell me!)

Football and Jesus

Football is a game of gains and losses -- trying to gain yardage down the field to make a goal, and trying not to lose too much of it.  We have lots of gains and losses in our individual lives, too.  My greatest gains -- and some of my greatest apparent losses -- have been because of Jesus Christ.  You see, God knew me and loved me before I was born, and he called me to be his child, before I was born (just like he knew and loved and called you, whoever you are).  But it was forty years before I really began to know him.

I was brought up with the teachings of Herbert W. Armstrong.  I thought he knew the Bible better than anybody and had the truth revealed to him directly from God.  After he died in 1987, I began to understand how he had made a lot of mistakes interpreting the scriptures, and how I needed to revise my thinking.  Slowly, I began to have a greater appreciation for Jesus Christ.  Finally, in January of 1995, I was faced with the choice of holding on to my attachments to Old Covenant regulations or grasping hold of Jesus Christ.  Letting go meant loss -- cherished memories, the idea that I was more important to God because I did certain things that others didn't, and as it turned out, losing the respect of some family members and friends.  But it meant gaining a much clearer view of Christ and what he did for me. 

In 2 Cor 3:7-18, Paul writes about the difference between the law of Moses and the new covenant in Christ, and it's very plain he is writing about his own Jewish people.  Especially in verses 14 through 16, he shows that it's impossible to really comprehend Christ if we focus on Moses, who only pre-figured Jesus.  That was the change in thinking that I had to make, and that many of us faced, 17 years ago.  It took a leap of faith, since we had been warned that if we abandoned those teachings we would be punished severely by God -- but it meant gaining far more meaning in looking to Jesus Christ directly.

Paul addresses that gain/loss idea again in Philippians 3:5-11.  Especially in verses 7-8, he describes his pedigree of birth and obedience to the law, then says dramatically, "everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord."  I echo Paul's words, with great joy!  Seeing the awesome power of Jesus Christ in scripture and knowing how the whole Bible focuses on who he is and what he did, has brought me incredible riches.


In football, we keep our eyes on the ball.  But what's our spiritual focus?  Jesus.  Heb. 12:1-13 reminds us "...let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith."  Our goal is not physical riches and health, but eternal life and the mind-boggling riches of knowing Christ forever.  That will mean losses in this physical life -- but immeasurable gains in the age to come.  So let's keep our eyes on Jesus!

Darkness and Light

The Amazing Joanne and I went camping last week for a short vacation.  One of the shocking parts of camping in a state park is how dark it is at night, with no bright streetlights around.  We saw stars -- formations like the Big Dipper, Little Dipper, O'Ryan's Belt (he was the first Irishman in space, by the way), and thousands of others.  That was the fun part.  The difficult part was walking to the potty in the middle of the night.  That same darkness became a hazard, because there were rocks to trip over and stickleburrs that we wanted to avoid.  So we turned on the lantern and walked in its light.

Which reminded us, of course, of Psalm 119:105, "Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path."  How do we see that "light" of the Word?  Here are some common approaches:

• The Bible is the instruction book for life; so you should look up the verse that tells you what decision to make or that answers your question.  --This approach unconsciously treats the Bible like a buffet, where we can go in and take just the foods we want, and all we need to do is find the right verse to apply to our questions.
• The Bible is a set of laws and principles that will guide us, although it doesn't always contain an exact instruction for each situation, but we should follow God's laws for a successful life and to avoid sin.  --This approach unconsciously sees God as some sort of rule-giver, like a supervisor at work or in a boarding school, laying down the law and punishing us for getting out of line. 
• The Bible is an ancient book of wisdom and we can learn from it, but it's not authoritative.  --This tells us that we are the superior beings, and the Bible is something we can take or leave at our discretion. 

Each of these approaches is fatally flawed because it leaves you and me as the authority in how (or even whether) to interpret and apply the scripture. 

Here's a better way:  The living Word of God, Jesus Christ, is the One to whom this verse points. (I've written about that in previous weeks).  So how do we read "Your word is a light to guide my feet and a light for my path"?  That the whole Bible, as the inspired written revelation of God, tells us who God is and what he is like, most particularly and clearly in the life and teachings of Jesus Christ himself.  That we look to Jesus, in the Gospel accounts and in the other writings, to understand our relationship to God through him, being adopted into the life and love of God (Eph. 1:3-5) and being filled with Christ (Col. 1:27).  That light in us, Christ himself, is the Lamp for our feet.  "I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life." (John 8:12). 

Let's follow him, being filled with him, and let his Light guide us. 

Lights, Bible, Action!

A lot of people have trouble understanding the Bible.  It's a big book -- 1200 pages or so.  It's easy to get bogged down in the lists of people and places we don't know.  So how do we understand it?  Here's an idea:  imagine the entire Bible as a single movie.  There is a long list in Wikipedia of movies based on the Bible, but most of them take just one story or sequence or idea. How would we create a movie on the whole Bible?

We'd have to decide the central theme first.  Most people read and understand the Bible chronologically, and that's okay, but it takes a long time to get to the point and you can miss the main ideas in trying to keep the chronology straight.  My favorite idea, courtesy of Dr. Gary Deddo, is to portray the Bible as a "whodunit," a mystery.  That's really a pretty good description of the Bible -- there are lots of characters, conflicts, twists and turns of plot, surprises, and many times when you wonder what this scene has to do with the story. But when the truth is revealed, you can say "Aha!  Now I get it!" as you see all the pieces fall into place.

The central theme of the Bible is God, through the Son, creating the universe and humanity for a never-ending relationship of love.  How did God create everything?  Through the Son (John 1:1-3, Heb. 1:2).  What happened to humanity?  We decided not to trust God and left that relationship of love (Gen. 3:1-8).  How did God win us back, proving his love for us without any doubt?  Through the Son, whom we know as Jesus, coming to live among us (John 1:14, Heb. 1:1-2), giving his life for us (John 3:16-17, Rom. 5:1-10) and moving us back into a relationship of love with God (2 Cor. 5:15-21).  How will it all end up?  When Jesus returns in glory and the entire creation is restored to fellowship with him (Phi. 2:10-11, Rev. 21:1-7).  So, the central character in our movie has to be the Son of God.  The entire story revolves around him. 

So, just for fun, how about outlining a script of the Bible's story?  The question is, how would you begin your version of this movie -- with Genesis 1?  John 1?  Hebrews 1?  Revelation 21? The story of Israel? The birth of the Messiah?  The end of the story in Revelation?  Really, you can begin the movie anywhere you want, just so you focus on the central character. That's what the Gospel is really about.

And how about you?  Do you understand it?  Have you realized how God has planned to love you, from before he made the earth (Eph. 1:3-5) and is right now pursuing you as the one who loves you more than anyone else?  Right now is the time for you to face that awesome truth -- that security and peace beyond all others -- and dive headlong into his love!

Pictures from the Old Testament: Circumcision and the Messiah

Circumcision can be a delicate matter, but it's used in the Bible as a picture of our salvation in Christ.  So let's see if we can explore the idea, shall we?

Circumcision was common among many of the nations of the ancient near east, where Abraham was called by God.  The Lord ordered Abraham and his male descendents to be circumcised as a sign of the covenant God had instituted with him: (Gen. 17:1-14).  If foreigners wanted to join the covenant community, their males would also be circumcised, so that act became a sort of initiation ritual.  Any man who didn't carry the identifying sign of the covenant, or fulfill various other rituals of the Old Covenant, would himself be "cut off" (either thrown out of the community or killed). 

Figuratively, God began to use "circumcision of the heart" in the Hebrew scriptures to look forward to a day of changed hearts and obedience to God from an inward motivation.  See Deut. 10:16 and 30:6.  In Jeremiah 4:4 the prophet says the people should circumcise their hearts, but that is figurative in more ways than one, because they couldn't change their hearts; God was looking forward to a whole new covenant. 

But there's another level of understanding.  In a Messianic prophecy in Isaiah 53, verse 8 says that this suffering servant would be unjustly 'cut off':  "Unjustly condemned, he was led away. No one cared that he died without descendants, that his life was cut short in midstream.  But he was struck down for the rebellion of my people."  Daniel 9:26 also describes how this Anointed One (Hebrew "messiah") would be cut off.  Jesus, as we know, had no sin in himself, but he took on all our sin and died to take it all away (2 Cor 5:21).   He was "cut off," in our place, to bear the blame and the shame of all humanity being "uncircumcised in heart and ears" (Acts 7:51).  So this ancient practice, in a sense, pre-figured not only our own salvation and change of heart, but also the Messiah himself -- Jesus the Christ. 

God has designed a system of symbols and meanings, written into scripture, to show us who he is and how he loves us in many different ways.  This is just one more symbol or idea from the Hebrew Scriptures that looks forward to Jesus.  After all, it's all about him!

Jesus Cleans Us Up

The woman following Jesus that day (Luke 8:40-48) was bleeding, and in Jewish society that meant, according to the purity laws God had given the Israelites through Moses, she was unclean and under  restrictions (see Leviticus 15).  She may have given birth or it may have been something else, but for twelve long years, she had continued to bleed rather than heal naturally.  Anyone and everything she touched became ceremonially unclean -- so it would have become very inconvenient for her to live in a home with her family.  She might have had to live on the streets, suffering the rejection of the public as well. 

Surely, she thought, if she could ask this great teacher, Jesus, for healing, she would be well.  But she was ashamed.  She had received only condemnation from her own people, as they would have concluded her disease was due to sin.  Her shame was so great she couldn't face anyone, let alone this powerful teacher and healer.  She saw her chance as the crowd thronged around him, reached out and touched his garment -- just the little bit of the lower hem that was in her direction for an instant.  Instantly, Luke tells us, her flow was stopped.  She was healed!  (Jesus, as God in the flesh, was not made unclean by her touch; his power cured diseases and uncleanness, showing he was superior over them all!)

Jesus knew his power had healed her, and demanded that she come out in the open so the Father could be given praise for her healing.  So now, all who knew her as a hopeless woman, trapped in her uncleanness, could know God's power. 

Jairus asked openly (v. 41) for healing, and Jesus responded willingly.  The woman was ashamed to ask openly, but she was healed regardless, because she responded to the love and power of God in faith. 

Here's the question:  What is in you right now that needs Jesus' healing power?  Are you ashamed of it?  Are you ready to ask him for healing?  His power is more than enough for your needs.  Admit your need, come close to him, and let his power pour through you.  You will never be the same again!

Wings

One of the comforting pictures from the Hebrew Scriptures is that of the faithful resting 'under God's wings.'  It's found five places in the Psalms:  17:8, 36:7, 57:1, 63:7, and 91:4 .   It's also used in Ruth 2:12, when Boaz shows favor to Ruth and says "May you be richly rewarded by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge."  This is a figure of speech comparing God to a mothering bird, protecting her chicks from the eyes of predators and sheltering them from rain, sun and harm. 

Does God have wings?  Hardly; God isn't hampered by physical form, although he has sometimes appeared as a human (for instance, Genesis 18).  But his loving care for us is described in many different ways in Scripture, including this picture of providing and protecting.  Jesus didn't have wings either but he picks up this word-picture, as recorded by Matthew and Luke.  In Luke 13:34, he says "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God’s messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let me."  Jesus' people refused his offer of protection, preferring their own blindness to his offer of God's redemption through his suffering.

But he was put to death on a cross, which was most likely an upright stake (the basic meaning of the Greek word used) with a crosspiece which he was forced to carry to the hill where he was killed.  The soldiers nailed him to the crosspiece, and put a sign over his head (Matthew 27:35-37) proclaiming him, ironically, "King of the Jews."  

Now, this is total speculation on my part -- this interpretation doesn't appear in Scripture so I can't claim it's authoritative, just a word picture in my own head.  As Jesus' arms were spread out and his hands nailed to the crosspiece of his stake, with the sign above naming him as King of the Jews, he 'spread out his wings' in a manner of speaking, to provide shelter and protection for all people -- his own nation as well as all of us Gentiles.  Though he died a criminal's death, it was to save us from our crimes against him:  "I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said" (1 Cor. 15:3).  


Colossians 1:20 says, "Through [Jesus] God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross."  God has already brought you back to himself, through Jesus' blood.  The only question is whether you find yourself "under the shadow of his wings" as he says you already are -- or whether, like Jesus' own people, you stubbornly prefer your way -- a way that didn't work for them either?  God lets you choose.  I pray you choose life. 

Pictures from the Old Testament: the Levitical System

Most nations around ancient Israel believed that they were ruled by unseen beings in the sky who controlled the weather, the fertility of people, animals and crops (and thus their lives, in an agricultural setting) and many other things.  The nations believed they had to appease those beings by any number of methods including sacrificing animals -- and sometimes humans, sometimes even their own children!  (See for instance 2 Kings 17:31.)  The problem was, one could never be certain of success; the weather might still be against you, your crops might still fail, etc.  You always had a little cloud of doubt hanging over your head.

The system God gave Israel was similar in many respects, at least to the casual observer. They had holy places, priests, altars, sacrifices of animals and grains, and even boxes that represented the presence of their god (that's why the Philistines captured the ark of the covenant in 1 Samuel 4).  But there were differences, and those differences assured the people of the forgiveness and faithfulness of Yahweh.  In addition, the whole Levitical system (the priests were all from the tribe of Levi) points directly to Jesus, our Savior. 

Here are just a few points, to illustrate:

• The 'sin offerings' described in Leviticus 4 and 5 are described as being effective:  "they will be forgiven" is used in 4:20, 4:26, 4:31, 4:35, and 5:10, 5:13, 5:16, 5:18, and in other places. 
• The offering had to be a 'male with no defects' (Lev. 1:3)
• The priest wears, on his turban, a seal engraved with the words "Holy to the LORD" which is taken to mean that he "may take on himself any guilt of the people of Israel when they consecrate their sacred offerings. He must always wear it on his forehead so the Lord will accept the people." (Ex. 28:36-68).
• The priest wears stones such as onyx and emerald, engraved with the names of the twelve tribes of Israel: “In this way, Aaron will carry the names of the tribes of Israel on the sacred chestpiece over his heart when he goes into the Holy Place. This will be a continual reminder that he represents the people when he comes before the Lord." (Ex. 28:29) 

Jesus himself fulfilled all those things: 

• He is our high priest (Heb 9:11) the one bringing the offering, and he was also the offering itself.
• He had no sin of his own but carried our guilt (Heb. 9:14)
• He represented all the people, as did the high priest in Israel; and through his sacrifice on the cross, all sin is taken away for all people, forever (Heb. 9:24-28). 
• That offering is effective, not because of the blood of animals, but the blood of Jesus himself (Heb 10:4-10).

This is one more of those reasons why we say that we read the entire Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, through the lens of Jesus Christ.  The sacrificial system of the Israelite nation did nothing to change peoples' hearts (Heb. 10:1-4) but only looked forward to the One who was to come.  Now, we live under the terms of the New Covenant, not the old one (Heb. 10:9) and are completely forgiven, even to the point of having a clean conscience.  That's what Jesus has given, not only to us, but every human who has ever lived! 

The Gospel made simple

I have these four points on the back of my card and on my blog.  They give the heart and core of the Gospel; indeed, the message of the whole Bible.  Here's a teeny bit of background by way of scriptures, on each one.

1. God, who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit, is love; and God loves you.
1 John 4:8  "Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love."
1 John 3:1  "See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!"

Eph. 2:3-5  "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 transgressions..."
1 John 4:9  "God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him."

2. The Father made plans to include you in his love and life forever.
Eph. 1:3-5 "Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes..."
John 3:16-17  "...God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him."

3. The Son, Jesus, accomplished the Father's plan, and you are already forgiven and included.
1 John 4:9  "This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him."
Romans 5:6-10 "While we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners...while we were still sinners...our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were his enemies..."
Col 1:20  "and through him [Jesus] God reconciled everything to himself.  He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross."
John 12:32  "And when I [Jesus] am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.” 

4. The Spirit invites you to believe this good news; and in believing, to enjoy it! 

John 15:26  "The Spirit of truth...will come to you from the Father and will testify all about me." 
John 16:8-11 "And when [the Spirit] comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment.  The world’s sin is that it refuses to believe in me..."
Romans 8:1-2  "So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus [note, that's everybody]. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death."
Romans 8:16  "For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children."

The core message of the whole Bible is wrapped up in who Jesus is, what he did for us, and how he has invited us into this glorious life of love.  How about sharing it with someone you love? 

A Glorious Mystery

A "mystery" is usually in a novel, where you have to read to the end to find out whodunnit.  (And no, I'm not smart enough to figure it out earlier.)  But in the Greek used in the New Testament, it normally means "something that, though once a secret, has now been fully revealed in the gospel" (Expositor's Commentary).  In Colossians 1, Paul writes of this sacred mystery, not as something still hidden, but an open secret:  "And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory." (Col. 1:27).  In this life, it's hard to measure a spiritual presence, so it can still look like a mystery sometimes; but the 'assurance of sharing his glory' is something I can get excited about!  Adding to that blessing, Paul writes "Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault" (verse 22). 

I'm awe-struck by these statements of spiritual fact.  I don't think of myself as 'without a single fault' because I'm too familiar with most of my faults.  But here, Paul says we are holy because of Jesus Christ, not our own right deeds.  We 'stand in God's presence,' he says, through 'the death of Christ.'  And besides that, we have the perfect Christ living in us. 

What that means:  Our future is secure.  On top of that, right now, we don't have to put up with a 'second-best' life anymore.  We don't have to settle for drudgery, ongoing depression or hopelessness.  The mind and will of Christ-in-us can lift us above all the misery and despair we might feel in looking just at physical life.  We have an absolute promise from God of "sharing in his glory" (forever!), and a spiritual sense of that glory already, because of Christ-in-us.  We can't measure it with physical science, but it's there and we can feel it.  And if we stay aware of Christ-in-us, we can let his presence change our thinking and our results. 

It's a different focus than we had when we didn't know Jesus.  People who are unaware of what he did for them don't have this hope, or this living presence in them.  But they could -- if we were to let them see it in us, and tell them about it!  If that joy is in you, why not share it with someone who needs it?  And if Christ is in you, and you're not feeling the joy, then ask him for more of it -- he will answer!

Truly Human

It's a new year. Some of us have decided to exercise more, be kinder to others, give more, spend less, save more, and in general, be nominated for sainthood and the Nobel Prize.  Today being January 4, most of those resolutions have already been broken, and we're no closer to working ourselves into sainthood than ever! 

Here's a single resolution that could cut through all the other noise and clutter:  surrender to God. 

That's right, drop all the pretense (it doesn't fool anybody), the self-driven effort (it won't get you any higher than your own bootstraps) and the hopeless struggle against your faults.  Neither of us, you nor I, can create a better human than we already are.  Only God can do that, and in Christ, he has already done it.  Jesus was the first real human, living as the kind of human God created us to be in the first place. And if we surrender -- give up and ask Jesus to think and speak and act for us, through us -- we are on the road to being truly human too.

Paul tells us in Colossians 1:27-28 "The mystery in a nutshell is just this: Christ is in you, so therefore you can look forward to sharing in God's glory. It's that simple. That is the substance of our Message...We teach in a spirit of profound common sense so that we can bring each person to maturity. To be mature is to be basic. Christ! No more, no less."  The essence of maturity, Paul says, is simply to let Christ be Christ, in us.  And in Psalm 46:10 God is telling us, in the context of war and external threats, "Stop [your fighting]—and know that I am God, exalted among the nations, exalted on the earth." 

No matter what battle we face, victory is found in surrender -- to God, who is Christ-in-us, the only true human.  Surrendering to him, every day in every way, is the solution to all the resolutions.

Christmas Bonus

Some companies give out a Christmas bonus (for the PC, a holiday bonus), or if they're technically driven, a performance bonus.  So here's something all of us can enjoy; one more point about the miracle of Christmas -- a 'Christmas bonus' if you will.

To paraphrase Max Lucado, God went through all this just for you.  If you were the only human on earth, the eternal Son of God would have come into human flesh with you, to be Immanuel, bringing humanity back into unity with God.  He would have died to pay for all your sins by his perfect, sinless sacrifice.  The hundreds of your sins would all be washed away by his sinless blood, and his rising from the dead on the first day of the week would have been your confidence of eternal resurrection. 

Even if it was only for you.  God loves that much!

Want some scriptures to read about this?  John 3:16, 1 John 3:16, 1 John 4:8, Romans 3:21-28, 6:23, 5:6-10, Eph. 1:3-5, for starters.  

How's that for a Christmas bonus?  This is one you can spend over, and over, and over...