Agape: A Parable of Discipleship

Two disciples of Jesus entered a city. They quickly observed great discord in the city. Even so, a group of Christians within the city quickly came and greeted them, but of course wanting to test the spirits of these disciples. So they asked them to quickly give their testimony, and then even more swiftly moved into the important matters of politics, established traditions, getting things back to 'how they used to be' and other 'key' litmus tests. The two disciples of Jesus asked their hosts one question, "What does it mean to set the captives free?". The group, perceiving that the question was directed against their exceeding commitment to their traditions and other idols, burned with anger and so the disciples, sharing in their suffering, were set aflame too. The two disciples left.

Soon another group of Christians, having seen what happened quickly came and greeted the two disciples. They warmly welcomed the disciples because they too had been oppressed by this other group of Christians for many, many years. The two disciples quickly found themselves in a gay bar, with a round of shots and bowl of peanuts in front of them. This group was giving testimony and talking openly about how those other Christians just don't get it and how they had fought hard for their rights to be who they are and by God's grace they can do as they wish. The two disciples asked one question of them, "What does it mean to die to yourself and be conformed to the image of Christ?" The group, perceiving that the question was directed against their exceeding commitment to these other idols, burned with anger and so the disciples, sharing in their suffering, were set aflame too. The two disciples went right out of the gates of the city.

As they were leaving the city everything went back to business as usual. The two disciples, feeling defeated and going through a range of emotions and thoughts, one praying fervently while the other spoke scripture aloud came upon a kindly woman who lived just outside the gates of that city. She offered the young disciples a glass of water and they were refreshed. She gave them her testimony and they discovered that she had been following Jesus for a long time and was very wise. She asked the young disciples one question, 'What does it mean that they will know us by our love for one another?'

The two disciples repented and went back into that city.

Agape: The Power of the Resurrection

"So when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, "Peace be with you."

Thank you Jesus, You are our ever present help in time of need no matter what fears have come to us.

The Resurrection has appeared and we have loved Him, and He is coming again. May we all learn what that means individually and together. May we come to know Him, Jesus Christ. The incarnation of God. The perfect imprint of His very nature. He is beautiful. He is Love.

The Rabbi Paul counted everything he had ever achieved in Judaism as utter rubbish.

circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless.

He called it all rubbish...what's your list look like?

Why was it rubbish? What was he willing to lose everything for? To know Yeshua Messiah (Jesus Christ) and the Father that sent Him. So it is not through the Law that one attains to a right standing before God, but a covenant faithfulness that comes by faith in Messiah, Jesus.

Why do we do what we do?

So that we may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; So that we may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

We aren't perfect yet, but we press on toward it, we reach for it, we strive for it because He has taken hold of us. And through the mystery of His grace and the hope that is in us He will bring it to completion.

As we experience the resurrection in our midst, as we strive to attain to the fullness thereof in the power of the Holy Spirit, let us lay aside every hindrance, let us be knit together by grace in true spiritual fellowship.

And let us remember that there are three that testify...and yes they still do!...Have you believed the testimony of men today? The testimony of God is greater! It is by the water, by the blood and by the Spirit and the three are in agreement. The Spirit answers the Roman procurator's question, "What is Truth". The Spirit is Truth.

And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ This is the true God and eternal life.

May the Resurrection and the Life fill the earth...in the beginning God the Father told the first Adam to go, be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. Look! He makes the last things as the first...in the Resurrection, Jesus Christ, He said go, make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,teaching them to observe all that I commanded you. The first Adam was from the earth, the second from heaven. See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking. Think about it seriously, if those did not escape wrath when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape who turn away from Him who warns from heaven. And His voice shook the earth then, but now He has promised, saying, "YET ONCE MORE I WILL SHAKE NOT ONLY THE EARTH, BUT ALSO THE HEAVEN." Why? Because of His great Love! Because those things which can be shaken, are created by evil men, and He will see to it that only those things which cannot be shaken will remain. Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe;for our God is a consuming fire.

May the prayer of our Lord and our Savior Jesus Christ be realized and manifested in you and in your faith community.

Agape: In Christ

As we go through this time of Holy week together I am sadly reminded that not everyone is for Jesus and about the things that Jesus is about. We just haven't been very interested in what God, the Father, is doing and wants to do...and this is the important part...what trips most people up...the Way He wants to do it.

Luke tells us that 'the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some way to get rid of Jesus, for they were afraid of the people. Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve.' The 'righteous' were praying against Jesus to the point that one of His own went accuser on Him. Why? Things weren't going the way Judas wanted them to and there was some money to be made. No body every wants to identify with Judas...yet there he is...that same spirit in so many today. We say...I would never turn over the word of God for a profit. Yet, it's done every day in a thousand different ways.

Not everyone who claims to know God and be of God is very much interested in God's Kingdom. His will done on Earth as in Heaven. It is more often our will done on earth in God's name, till we get someplace else called heaven. I'm as guilty as the next person who has fallen short in this, if not in word surely in deed. Praise God for his grace and patience. Amen?

God loves us so much that He gave His Life for us in and as His only begotten Son. Jesus suffered and he did not bite back, he did not curse, he blessed, He told the truth with grace and love. He loved His enemies...that is... those that hated Him and He gives us this same upward calling. It's an endurance race, a boxing match, a battle to walk in Love, not only as a regenerated person, but as a person through whom the Spirit of regeneration flows...this is a fallen and degenerate world we inhabit, but it is a world that God loves, a world that God has reclaimed and is remaking, filling it with Himself as the waters cover the sea. That's His job. Our job is to love Him with all of our heart, mind, soul and strength and like that to love our neighbors as ourselves. The only way any of us can partake in that Love is in and by the power of the Holy Ghost, by turning to Jesus and looking to His strength to not only see the Kingdom, but to enter it and to have it enter us, to live in it, walk in it and give Him glory in it.

Jesus who says to us, 'Come, follow me', that we can actually be in Him. To know, in the most intimate way, the Father and Jesus Christ whom He sent. That doesn't always look like what we want it to, that hasn't changed and it won't until what we want it to look like is what God wants it to look like...namely Jesus. It certain doesn't feel good to have the Power drained right out of you, to be baptized for the dead or to even vaguely perceive what is in the hearts of men. But when you see a response of faith in the other person, when you see the Light in their eyes as though something just changed and they can't quite figure it out...well that is the Power of God and that is sharing in the sufferings of Messiah, that is the mystery of the Gospel at work in our midst.

To know God and be in Christ is to serve, it is to suffer and it is to overcome and it is to rejoice and celebrate in progressive up-building of one another in the faith. We are being made into a Holy Temple for the Lord...every day...individually? yes! Corporately? yes! Holistically? yes! and AMEN!...New Heavens and New Earth where righteousness dwells is our hope...the place where God is all and in all. That is the promise and that is the word of the Lord.

There is no greater joy than being in Christ...John puts it quite perfectly...'I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus.' Jesus, the crucified and resurrected Messiah, it is still foolishness to westerners (even a lot of Christians) and still a stumbling block to the Jews just as David prophesied it would be...

The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
the LORD has done this,
and it is marvelous in our eyes.
The LORD has done it this very day;
let us rejoice today and be glad.

Even so it is promised that every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of the Father. Think on that...

To be in Christ is a powerful thing...the power of it is not expressed nearly as it should be it is a power perfected in our weakness. The power behind the absolute truth, God is Love...that's who He was, who He is and who He will be...there is NO shifting of shadow in Him who is Light. He has transferred us from the dominion of darkness into the Kingdom of His Son, the Kingdom of Light. Oh, that we would receive it in humility. I urge you to do all that you can to humble yourselves, the other option is to be humbled by God and His hand is heavy upon the proud. He who makes low the hills that the valley's might be filled has warned us. To Him ascribe all glory and honor and praise.

So today I joyfully remind you, or maybe you're hearing it for the first time, of what we first received. Jesus died on a cross for our sins, was raised on the third day and appeared to many before ascending to the right hand of the throne of God, where He will be seated until all enemies are under His feet. Then the Son will descend to us even as we receive Him, becoming subject to Him who glorified the Son, that God might be all and in all. AMEN

Agape: Robes on the Way

Today, I was watching the movie based on the book of Esther called 'One Night with the King'. It was a real blessing from God as I've been struggling with confidence recently. Mostly because I was not putting my confidence squarely where it should be, Christ...that is, the Messiah.

This morning I had also read through part of 'Agape Road' and by God's grace He worked everything together. The topic was having confidence in the royal robes (Esther 5) of Christ as His Bride. Paul describes these robes in his letter to the Colossians (3):

'So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience;bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.

Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.

Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.'

The interesting thing is that there is an active participation on our part, we have to 'put on' these things by and in faith as a response to the sprinkling of the blood that has come to us, that is, the Gospel of God and having received the implanted Word. This is very far from 'putting on' a mask of humility, kindness, etc...I am very good at that when I want to be, but God is no respecter of masks and so it's something I pray He continues to change in me as I seek Him. He drives into the deeper darker recesses of our hearts and shows us what's what and that is painful and scary at times because we have a tendency to believe the reality you put on when you have been doing it for so long.

Closed my eyes and an immediate sense of peace came upon me when God gave me the visual of actually putting on those royal robes. Seeing them as the gift from God that they are as a result of what He has done and is doing in our lives. Actively stepping into Christ by faith in such a real way was exactly what I needed. Does that mean I didn't have any troubles or worries today? Not at all. It means I was equipped to walk through them though, in His Spirit.

Tomorrow is Palm Sunday and we celebrate Jesus' humble, non-triumphalist entrance into Jerusalem as He headed toward the Passover celebration that would Rock the cosmos and change everything so that the dividing wall of hostility between Jew and non-Jew would be torn down in His flesh and all those who believe on Him and confess Him with their mouth would have the privilege of participating in the divine nature as a Kingdom of Priests in Messiah, our Lord, for the salvation of the world and the glory of God, our Father.

Agape: Something All Together...Different

John 17 is one of my most treasured areas of scripture. It really shows me how serious Jesus was about what He was sent to do (John 3v16-17). Just to meditate for a few minutes on the grandeur, the scale and intricacy of that prayer...this is what He desired, what He believed the Kingdom message was about and what it was to accomplish on earth as in heaven. That He who was without sin would give us His own glory, that He would make us to be one in Him...it is amazing!

It's written that our God is a jealous God. I'm jealous quite a bit, but not the same way He is jealous. I found out that I have a corrupted version of jealousy. While God is jealous 'for' us, my jealousy tends to be 'of'... well, fill in the blank.

A form of godliness, but a denial of its power? Not quite, but dangerously close at times. I never realized just how wicked the human heart is, how quick to accuse and demand control, to self justify and shift blame. From Catholic to Protestant, Modern to Post-Modern, Conservative to Liberal, from Neighbor to Neighbor and Pew to Pew, Brother to Brother...None of us can stop it ourselves; however, it has been my experience recently that every battle fought and won, in His Power, over this 'rising up' of sin... is a tremendous builder of faith.

This seems to be no problem, plenty of opportunity for growth, since it turns out that many of the godly attributes that I thought I had... are good enough to deceive myself, but bad enough to do damage to myself and others. So should we increase sin so that grace may abound? May it never be! Praise God for His grace that leads to repentance and sustains us even as we mess up, getting things terribly wrong in our hearts and in our minds...and on from there. However, he has written His law on our hearts and His promised rest is with us and ever before us as we seek His Kingdom and His righteousness.

See? Look how we share in one another's burdens, treating them as our own. By sharing in Christ's suffering this way, we store up treasures for ourselves in heaven. Though I am genuinely undeserving... do you see the gift of the genuine love and concern you showed? I find myself in awe and wonder! It's an overwhelming thing to take in. I am becoming more and more excited for the profit that the blessings and prayers you have sent me and my family are going to yield...a profit that increases to your account!

I was utterly ill and riddled with sin and still I struggle...even so I'm so thankful for the faithful who have been laboring over me and my household recently...all of you. I look at the love you have all shown and give glory to God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. In all patience you have walked in Him...whether it was casting out demons, listening to confession, fervent prayer, forgiveness and trust issues, healing wounds, prophesying, double-edged spiritual battle...the Lord works all things together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purposes.

Let His teaching fall like rain and His words descend like dew, like showers on new grass, abundant rain on tender plants.

As the farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains. You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near.

Behold, the LORD has proclaimed to the end of the earth,
Say to the daughter of Zion, "Lo, your salvation comes;
Behold His reward is with Him, and His recompense before Him."
And they will call them, "The holy people,
The redeemed of the LORD";
And you will be called, "Sought out, a city not forsaken."

Grace and peace in Christ.