. . . and all (Abraham's) household people, whether house-born or money-bought from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.
"Put my yoke on and learn from me: I am gentle and humble of heart, and you will find rest for your souls, because my yoke is kindly and my load is light."
We cannot enjoy the restful life that Christ offers, while we carry around our sack of burdens. The person with worries, or troubles, or stress, is too focused on those things to enjoy Christ. A troubled person is not a restful person. Yet we are called to rest.
Is that not what we want? We want a stress-free life! We wish we could be as care-free as we were in the days of our youth. The burdens of life, which grow heavier by the year, get in the way! But what is the source of these worries? How can we root it out?
Symbolically, a practice was in place, instituted by Abraham, under God's direction. It begins with a cutting away of the flesh, And there is no part of humanity more "fleshly" and harmful than our obsession with sex. We can live without it, yet we are prone to treat it as beasts do, as an urge that must be satisfied. A reading of all of my other posts would indicate that I consider the human male to be particularly at fault. He tends to be the aggressor, the tempter, the seducer. He does not use his mind to plan out his paths. He does not do what is right!
Circumcision cuts away at the most troublesome part of the male physique. It involves the shedding of blood. The removal of the flesh, or of sin, from our lives is not pleasant. Neither is it necessarily a clean process. It is painful, but must be done.
Our worries, our temptations, our fears, our burdens, are all the same as the sin that keeps us back.
Remove the sin in your life - a task that is not easy - and then you are free to enjoy the rest in Christ.
Friday, April 29, 2011
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Genesis and Matthew XXVII
"Walk in my presence! And be wholehearted!"
"I assure you, among all those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist - but the lowest person in the kingdom of the skies is greater than him."
Abraham was known for his unquestioning obedience to God. To trust God, and to do what God expects, is the very essence of faith.
John the Baptist lived a simple life marked by an almost fanatical devotion to serving God. He had no regular job, no home, no things. Yet Jesus called John the greatest in God's kingdom.
In the Easter sermon at Dexter United Methodist Church, less than a week ago, the pastor made this point - that everything we do: all our strivings, schedulings, activities, stressings, etc., really count for nothing. The only thing that matters is serving Christ. It was part of a sermon series entitled The Hard Sayings of Jesus.
How about these three things:
* Walk with God.
* Be wholehearted (sincere, pure, righteous).
* Give up everything to serve the Lord.
Abraham believed God, and followed Him. John the Baptist gave it all up. These are two very hard lessons.
Are we ready to rejoice at the wealthy guy that gives it all up to preach to the poor? How about encouraging our friends and family to drop their hobbies and busy schedules, so that they can spend reflective time in God's word and prayer? How about taking a bold stand for virtues such as honesty, sincerity, loyalty, purity, charity?
These pretty much say it all. But on the other side of obedience, trust, purity, and simplicity, are land as far as we can see, a family too numerous to count, and a seat of honor in God's Kingdom.
Do we believe this? What may we conclude by our behavior?
"I assure you, among all those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist - but the lowest person in the kingdom of the skies is greater than him."
Abraham was known for his unquestioning obedience to God. To trust God, and to do what God expects, is the very essence of faith.
John the Baptist lived a simple life marked by an almost fanatical devotion to serving God. He had no regular job, no home, no things. Yet Jesus called John the greatest in God's kingdom.
In the Easter sermon at Dexter United Methodist Church, less than a week ago, the pastor made this point - that everything we do: all our strivings, schedulings, activities, stressings, etc., really count for nothing. The only thing that matters is serving Christ. It was part of a sermon series entitled The Hard Sayings of Jesus.
How about these three things:
* Walk with God.
* Be wholehearted (sincere, pure, righteous).
* Give up everything to serve the Lord.
Abraham believed God, and followed Him. John the Baptist gave it all up. These are two very hard lessons.
Are we ready to rejoice at the wealthy guy that gives it all up to preach to the poor? How about encouraging our friends and family to drop their hobbies and busy schedules, so that they can spend reflective time in God's word and prayer? How about taking a bold stand for virtues such as honesty, sincerity, loyalty, purity, charity?
These pretty much say it all. But on the other side of obedience, trust, purity, and simplicity, are land as far as we can see, a family too numerous to count, and a seat of honor in God's Kingdom.
Do we believe this? What may we conclude by our behavior?
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Genesis and Matthew XXVI
He (Ishmael) shall be a wild-ass of a man, his hand against all, hand of all against him, yet in the presence of all his brothers shall he dwell.
What did you go out to the desert to see? . . . A prophet? Yes, I tell you, a prophet and more . . .
There is a wild man at the beginning of each testament. In the old, it is Ishmael, first son of Abraham, father of the Arab nation. In the New Testament, it is John the Immerser, Jesus' cousin. John was a child sent from God's promise, born to a woman too old to have children, as was Ishmael's half-brother, Isaac.
Promises abound, and so often it has to do with miraculous births.
Ishmael was not a child of promise. But he grew to be a great nation. He represents the Old Testament. Clans, nations, tribes are everything in the Old Testament. Warfare was the primary mode of building kingdoms. It was, basically, the way the world did things. Yet God operated and worked His will in this context. Today, the descendants of Ishmael are still known for their adherence to this Old Testament way of doing things: rigid laws, heavily male-dominated, use of warfare and its ancient rules (you are to wipe out every trace of life of your enemies).
John comes along, in the days of Christ. Both he and Jesus were born according to a promise. John is the wild man of the New Covenant. He has cast off all worldliness. He does not seek, or need, a "job." He just proclaims the word of God. This is the most important thing. He is not worried about having a son to carry on his name. In the New Testament, to be "wild" means to have nothing to do with the world and its trappings.
Sons in the Old Testament (including Ishmael) were made holy via circumcision. But in the New, all people are made holy by way of belief, demonstrated in the act of immersion first made essential to the church, by John the Immerser.
We become part of a New Family.
Ishmael's nation was blessed, and continues to be so, today, in terms of the multiplying of its population. The messenger of God told Ishmael's mother, to return back to the tent of Abraham, to her family, regardless of how she had been treated.
He calls all of us today, to return back to our families, through Christ.
What did you go out to the desert to see? . . . A prophet? Yes, I tell you, a prophet and more . . .
There is a wild man at the beginning of each testament. In the old, it is Ishmael, first son of Abraham, father of the Arab nation. In the New Testament, it is John the Immerser, Jesus' cousin. John was a child sent from God's promise, born to a woman too old to have children, as was Ishmael's half-brother, Isaac.
Promises abound, and so often it has to do with miraculous births.
Ishmael was not a child of promise. But he grew to be a great nation. He represents the Old Testament. Clans, nations, tribes are everything in the Old Testament. Warfare was the primary mode of building kingdoms. It was, basically, the way the world did things. Yet God operated and worked His will in this context. Today, the descendants of Ishmael are still known for their adherence to this Old Testament way of doing things: rigid laws, heavily male-dominated, use of warfare and its ancient rules (you are to wipe out every trace of life of your enemies).
John comes along, in the days of Christ. Both he and Jesus were born according to a promise. John is the wild man of the New Covenant. He has cast off all worldliness. He does not seek, or need, a "job." He just proclaims the word of God. This is the most important thing. He is not worried about having a son to carry on his name. In the New Testament, to be "wild" means to have nothing to do with the world and its trappings.
Sons in the Old Testament (including Ishmael) were made holy via circumcision. But in the New, all people are made holy by way of belief, demonstrated in the act of immersion first made essential to the church, by John the Immerser.
We become part of a New Family.
Ishmael's nation was blessed, and continues to be so, today, in terms of the multiplying of its population. The messenger of God told Ishmael's mother, to return back to the tent of Abraham, to her family, regardless of how she had been treated.
He calls all of us today, to return back to our families, through Christ.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Genesis and Matthew XXV
On that day YHWH cut a covenant with Avram, saying: I give this land to your seed . . .
Whoever prefers father or mother over me is not worthy of me . . .
I would love to see this kind of devotion to God demonstrated. That is, a parent making it very clear that they want their children to prefer God over themselves.
It would go like this:
Teenager: Dad, I am planning to become a teacher.
Father: That's great, son. Did you pray about this?
Or . . .
Teenager: Dad, I am thinking of entering the ministry . . .
Father: Praise God!
But rather, we tend to get more like the following:
Teenager: Dad, I am planning to become a teacher.
Father: You don't want to do that.
Or . . .
Teenager: Dad, I am thinking of entering the ministry . . .
Father: Well, you've got to be realistic. How will you afford to pay for your kids' college?
Parents should be aggressively moving their children towards Christian service. Too many parents believe their calling is to raise children that go to church, that are even leaders in the church, as long as they make good money! Because, after all, somebody has got to support God's work!
We need parents who, if they see their child praying and studying Scripture, going to church regularly, that if they wind up on some mission trip to a dangerous land, or engaging in urban ministries, or pursuing a rural ministry that does not pay much; that these parents rejoice, or at least accept that God is in control (He is anyway).
I marvel at the professing Christians who still do not seem to have grasped the simple act of faith, of believing that God is in control, especially when it comes to their children!
God works his plan in families, starting with Abraham's family. We are wanderers, seeking out a homeland that has been promised to us. We have land in our name, that we will occupy. It's all about our family, and our home, and our reunion with Father Abraham and all of his descendants. Nothing else matters.
Whoever prefers father or mother over me is not worthy of me . . .
I would love to see this kind of devotion to God demonstrated. That is, a parent making it very clear that they want their children to prefer God over themselves.
It would go like this:
Teenager: Dad, I am planning to become a teacher.
Father: That's great, son. Did you pray about this?
Or . . .
Teenager: Dad, I am thinking of entering the ministry . . .
Father: Praise God!
But rather, we tend to get more like the following:
Teenager: Dad, I am planning to become a teacher.
Father: You don't want to do that.
Or . . .
Teenager: Dad, I am thinking of entering the ministry . . .
Father:
Parents should be aggressively moving their children towards Christian service. Too many parents believe their calling is to raise children that go to church, that are even leaders in the church, as long as they make good money! Because, after all, somebody has got to support God's work!
We need parents who, if they see their child praying and studying Scripture, going to church regularly, that if they wind up on some mission trip to a dangerous land, or engaging in urban ministries, or pursuing a rural ministry that does not pay much; that these parents rejoice, or at least accept that God is in control (He is anyway).
I marvel at the professing Christians who still do not seem to have grasped the simple act of faith, of believing that God is in control, especially when it comes to their children!
God works his plan in families, starting with Abraham's family. We are wanderers, seeking out a homeland that has been promised to us. We have land in our name, that we will occupy. It's all about our family, and our home, and our reunion with Father Abraham and all of his descendants. Nothing else matters.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Genesis and Matthew - Vacation Version
He brought back his nephew Lot, together with Lot's possessions and the women and everyone else who had been captured.
". . . because I came to divide a man against his father and a daughter against her mother . . . "
We have a difficult time squaring the idea of building family, and the effect of Christ's work upon families, which apparently is to divide them.
We know, as we shall see later, that Paul hated divisions among people. He called them a "heresy."
So I think that we need to be aware of the natural forces among us, which drive us apart. This happens most intensely to families. When you see it happening, realize what is going on. Next, know that divisions are going to be expected, especially in families. Satan loves family quarrels.
Finally, make your work focused on building up families. Christ draws and divides people. But that can't be helped. His work is integrally to restore the lost, to reconnect families; to rescue them from slavery, as Abram did his nephew Lot.
". . . because I came to divide a man against his father and a daughter against her mother . . . "
We have a difficult time squaring the idea of building family, and the effect of Christ's work upon families, which apparently is to divide them.
We know, as we shall see later, that Paul hated divisions among people. He called them a "heresy."
So I think that we need to be aware of the natural forces among us, which drive us apart. This happens most intensely to families. When you see it happening, realize what is going on. Next, know that divisions are going to be expected, especially in families. Satan loves family quarrels.
Finally, make your work focused on building up families. Christ draws and divides people. But that can't be helped. His work is integrally to restore the lost, to reconnect families; to rescue them from slavery, as Abram did his nephew Lot.
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