Conversation and Revelation

So as I mentioned in my last blog I've been in conversation with some friends from church over Scripture, the Apocalypse, that is, the last book of the Bible has been the subject of recent conversation.  We started out by learning the ins and outs of the four mainstream theological viewpoints as pertains 'End Times' or what I like the think of rather as the in-breaking of the 'Age to Come' or 'World to Come' (aka Eternal Life) Luke 18v30 , John 17v1-3.  The mainstream viewpoints are Historical Premillennialism, Amillennialism, Dispensational Premillennialism and Postmillenialism. The material was good and I believe the teacher did a good job of presenting the differing viewpoints from an objective stance which was very cool to see.  This was a time of Spiritual awakening for me and I wrestled with all sorts of things as the Lord was doing a work in us.  All said and done though I still find myself in the camp of Inaugurated Escatology, not only because I find it as the most compelling and accurate to the full counsel of God's revelation of Himself and His purposes in Holy Scripture, but because it is, in my opinion, the most faithful to the Spirit of these Writings.  Knowing that He works all things according to the counsel of His purpose as summarized in John 3v16-17, namely to redeem a people for His own possession, who in turn will play a substantive role in the redemption of His world by loving Him and rejoicing in His amazing grace and covenant faithfulness at work in and through us.


We had intended to go through the Revelation line by line after this introduction to established viewpoints, but it was prayerfully decided to ensure a firm foundation in Messiah by beginning rather in the Gospel according to John, before we delve into such a powerful discipleship experience as John's Revelation.  That being said I still have a desire to work through Revelation with the Lord Jesus in 2012.  So, my journey is going to start here on the blog and those who would like to are welcome to join me in the conversation and Revelation.  I will be posting as I have opportunity and would welcome any guest bloggers who would like to add something to the conversation.  I will be using a few resources as I embark on this journey, my Bible, a commentary, a resource to help me with spiritual disciplines and a whole lot of prayer.


May the curtain be drawn up and Heaven revealed...

¹Revelation of Jesus the Messiah!  God gave it to him to show his servants what must soon take place.  He signified it by sending a message through his angel to his servant John, ²who, by reporting all he saw, bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus the Messiah.  ³God’s blessing on the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and on those hear them and keep what is written in it.  The time, you see, is near!

⁴John, to the seven churches in Asia: grace to you and peace from He Who Is and Who Was and Who Is to Come, and from the seven spirits that are before his throne, ⁵and from Jesus the Messiah, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.  Glory to the one who loved us, and freed us from our sins by his blood, ⁶and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and father-glory and power be to him forever and ever. Amen.

⁷Look! He is coming with the clouds, and every eye shall see him; yes, even those who pierced him.  All the tribes of the earth shall mourn because of him. Yes! Amen.

⁸“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, Who Is and Who Was and Who Is to Come, the Almighty.

When things are going 'wrong' in our lives we can very quickly get scared and out of sorts.  For the early church it was severe and violent religious, social, economic and political persecution.  That is where apocalyptic literature comes in.  It is designed to look through the horrific circumstances of the day to the endurance and holiness required of us as God's beloved children and upward toward the hope of the renewal of all things.  

The first thing we see in these verses is that Jesus is to be the central figure, everything flowing through him by the Holy Spirit, and ultimately...intimately... from God the father, 'He Who Is and Who Was and Who Is to Come'.  We see that there is order in God's Kingdom, the revelation is given from the father to Jesus the son, who gives it to his angel who gives it to the seer (John in this case) who ultimately and obediently delivers it to the church.  So we have a four-stage revelation as the basic framework of the epistle.

We see that this is going to be a letter or epistle, there are specific letters to specific churches, that by the symbolic number seven represent the complete church throughout history.  The whole revelation is in the form of an epistle though, telling the children of God what he has seen.  This is also prophecy, Jesus is drawing up from the deep well of John's knowledge of Hebrew prophecy from Daniel, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Isaiah, ect and yet in light of the revelation of Jesus the Messiah, He is painting a fresh picture with images showing up in new and dramatic ways to bring hope and encouragement to the struggling Christian community.

Finally, the Apocalypse serves as Witness / Testimony and this is of paramount importance to the Christian church in every age and certainly today.  As we will learn later it is by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony that we are to overcome the Accuser.  So when God does something in your life...remember it, celebrate it tell of it to whoever will listen and give God the glory He deserves. It's more than God allowing you to pull into that sweet parking spot right near the front doors of the mall though...Witness carries the idea that God is conducting a heavenly law-court and the 'witness' borne by Jesus and ultimately by those who call themselves Christian's is the key that unlocks the final judgment and verdict.  It also carries the sense of the word 'martyr' meaning you are signing up for suffering, even death.

So why would anyone want to bear this cross Jesus calls us to?  Because He has 'made us a kingdom, priests to his God and father' and for the hope...the only reason Christianity makes sense at all...He will come again and set all things right! AMEN

Some thought’s on Judaism, Christianity and the Kingdom of God as the Holy Spirit leads…

Some thought’s on Judaism, Christianity and the Kingdom of God as the Holy Spirit leads…

"But if we would turn to the Father’s grace, We would never be the same, This is an unseen land of a devastated soul, That’s prepared in contemplative silence, For the mighty working hand of an unseen Lord, To come restore this land from its violence, I said walk another mile, Stare across the fields of grain, This is how the prophets train, Learn this lesson well my friend, There’s a time to rejoice and lament, Every season will find an end"

I was gathered together with some friends recently and we were talking scripture when a question came up about the Kingdom of God (Heaven)…how would you explain it to someone? Everyone had some idea, but had never thought to articulate it. Now, this was the primary message of Jesus, this is the Messiah’s Gospel. So I went away from the convo figuring I would spend some time…praying about it, studying and in the name of discipleship share some thoughts…God is always faithful!

The day after I had this convo, a friend of mine returned a book I had lent to him and his wife. The book is titled ‘To Heal A Fractured World’ written by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks. It had been a while since I read the book and when I opened it I found myself face to face with a verse we had discussed the previous night. It comes from the prophet Isaiah:

They will neither harm nor destroy On all My holy mountain, For the earth will be full of the knowledge of YHVH As the waters cover the sea. - Isaiah 11v9

Now this conversation, to place things in context, stems from our study of ‘Last Days’ and ‘Eternal Life’ also known as ‘The Age to Come’ (Luke 18v30). So let’s look and see what the Lord delivered to me concerning this…

 From ‘To Heal A Fractured World’ pg 77.

‘The prophets and sages, virtually without exception, shared a vision of ‘the end of days’ (the messianic age, the world to come) in which restoration would be far-reaching and macrocosmic. At one level, the political-historical, it would return the Jews to their land and the renewal of the covenant between God and Israel. At a deeper, spiritual-metaphysical level it would mean the end of war and strife and the dawn of a universal sense of the presence of God, as in Isaiah’s great vision: They will neither harm nor destroy On all My holy mountain, For the earth will be full of the knowledge of LORD As the waters cover the sea. - Isaiah 11v9 The question is, how do we get from here to there, from historical to messianic time? That was always a difficult question in Judaism.’

R. Sacks goes on to state …

‘On one hand, redemption comes from God; on the other, without human initiative, there is nothing through which God can act.’

Though, in regards to the lack of human initiative, Jesus did say, “Let me tell you,” replied Jesus, “if they stayed silent, the stones would be shouting out!” Implying of course, to get out of the way of those who are willing to engage and celebrate with God for His glory. Those whose human initiative comes from a place of faith.

This brings us to the perceived Jewish / Christian divide, then and now. It can be seen as the result of human error that there ever was a divide, but Paul tells us in Romans that God, in His sovereignty, sent a partial hardening on the hearts of national Israel so that they don’t accept Jesus as Messiah, why? So that salvation, that is, the renewal of the covenant and the inheritance (all things), would extend beyond national Israel to all peoples by faith and so that He can have mercy on National Israel at the appropriate time. That is, when every knee bows and every tongue confesses that Jesus, Messiah, is Lord to the glory of God the father. In the Sacred Scriptures we are told that ‘Christian’s’ were at first seen as a sect of Judaism. Of course, early Christian’s saw their Messiah, Jesus, and those in him as the answer to the aforementioned question Judaism continues to struggle with to date. So, I insist on seeing Christianity as the answer to which Judaism is the preceding question. In fact, Paul and certainly John via Jesus himself, see’s Christian’s as the true Jews, ref Revelation 2v9, 3v9. This does and should not lead to any form of anti-Semitism, because Paul says he would give up his salvation and be cut off from Messiah for the sake of national Israel if that were possible. That’s what love looks like, not hate. Who would you give up eternal life for?

As I stated, Christianity, also known as ‘The Way’, was seen early on by those who rejected it as one among many sects of Judaism since there were significant divisions between the likes of the Pharisees, the Saducees, the Essenes, different Zealot sects and even other messianic movements...which usually ended up with dead would-be messiahs. None of which resulted in its followers claiming that their Messiah had risen from the dead. It quite simply was not expected, even amongst those who believed in the Resurrection, even those who followed Jesus…it was supposed to all happen at once, not that the Messiah would lead the way as the firstborn from the dead, and that he would ascend to the highest throne (heaven) and would rule from the right hand of God, sharing His throne. (note: ascension is not the same as resurrection) Though it would stand to reason that that is exactly what God would do when He was ready to launch the renewal of His Kingdom on Earth as in Heaven. Besides reason, it is what David prophesied in Psalm 110.

So what is ‘the Kingdom of God (Heaven)’? In its simplest terms, it is the reign of God. His will, done on Earth as in Heaven. This is mediated through Jesus as King and High Priest. Jesus of course expounds on the Kingdom of God (Heaven)…what it looks like, how it arrives, where it is at…all in his parables. And he teaches these truths in parable for a reason. Jesus also shows us when he casts demons out by the finger of God (the Holy Spirit), and he says the Kingdom of God has come upon you. You see, God has taken charge; His rule/authority has manifested itself because it met with faith. You see Love never insists on its own way. But when met with faith amazing things that some see as supernatural start to happen, but in God’s world, the Messianic world, they are perfectly at home and exactly what you ought to expect to see as the Kingdom comes. (Matthew 13v58, 17v20)

According to God’s wisdom, the King of this Kingdom, God’s anointed, in leading the way and himself being the Way, Jesus is the place where Heaven and Earth come together. In pre-Messianic times this was the temple in Jerusalem, but Jesus re-established the people of God around himself as both Messiah and High Priest (according to the order of Melchezidek). This is why there was so much conflict between him and the temple (which was a type of Christ – temporary until the real thing came), which like the fig tree had ceased to produce fruit. Now, Jesus is the place…or rather the person… where Heaven and Earth come together, the ‘place’ where you come to meet with God, to confess your sins and find forgiveness, to find healing and restoration, justice, mercy and faith. He was able to do this because it pleased the Father to have the fullness dwell in him.

So, if we have washed ourselves in the blood of the Lamb, what does this mean to be a living stone in the temple of God, that is, in Messiah until that Day when all things are brought into subjection to Him who will even transform our present body, this shabby old thing, so that it’s just like his glorious body, by the power which makes him able to bring everything into line under his authority, how then ought we to live now?

“The kingdom of heaven is like leaven,” he said, “which a woman took and hid inside three measures of flour, until the whole thing was leavened.”

“God’s Kingdom,” replied Jesus, “Isn’t the sort of thing you can watch for and see coming. People won’t say, ‘Look, here it is,’ or ‘Look, over there!’ No: God’s kingdom is within your grasp.”

May we take hold of the Life that is truly Life. AMEN

Apocalypse 2012

Getting ready to ring in the new year...watching old videos from my oldest son's first french toast breakfast which was also his first surfing trip. Then I checked out a video from the 'Our Family is your Family' thanksgiving over at our first church, then as I reflected on Sebastian's baptism this year, I was taken back to the day he was born, his little lip shivering and the fear and excitement and beauty and messiness. Awesome. Bringing forth new life is always a messy ordeal though...ask any mother...and as this year gives birth to the next, I can't help but be filled with hope for what the Lord will do and how my household and my community gets to be a part of it all with Him.

In order to look forward, it’s often wise to first look back and see from where you've come. In 2011, there have been a lot of challenges. Many victories and many failures, and life has emerged victorious from the midst of all of it. I've prayed and cried,yelled and sobbed. I've had dreams and nightmares, visions and darkness, I've heard the Lord's voice and battled with the devil. I've been set on fire and filled to overflowing. I've rejoiced and I've lamented. I've struggled with men and with God, fallen and risen, died and come again to life. I do my best to give God glory through it all because I love my Father and I love my King, Jesus.

I’m still learning how to be a husband, a father and all the other things I’m to be…and to do it all while dying to myself, so that Messiah can live his life through me…I have struggled with what that means, what it looks like and how it manifests on earth as in heaven. Following Jesus, has not been easy for me. It wasn’t easy for him, so i don't expect it to be. I don’t believe he lived the life he did so we don’t have to, but so that we would have the hope, courage and power to follow Him in exactly that life. This means courage and humility, boldness and wisdom, strength and compassion, suffering and conquering and so much more…but in the end…faith, hope and love.

A few things I’ve learned more intimately over the past year for what it’s worth…

God is faithful.

My life has been somewhat formless and void over the last year, it lacked direction, function and order in many areas. I battled with confusion, doubt and demons I knew nothing about…but they were as real as me sitting here typing. One thing is a fact though, evil must be allowed to come out, do their worst and then be dealt with head on. There’s no use dilly-dallying around. You have to get past the surface rubbish… ‘peace, peace’ when there is no peace, stare the horsemen in the face and endure…that’s the Way.

The world is coming to an end…and it starts with us

The way we have done things in the past will not be the way they are done in the future. We are called to be good stewards of God’s good creation, to be image bearers and God has ordained it that he will work through his children to bring his glad, wise order into the world…filling it with Himself. Creation groans for this and we who have the first fruits find ourselves groaning within for the redemption of our bodies. In this hope we were saved. May this be a year where the sons of God are revealed. May we not only walk in the Spirit, but be driven by the Spirit. This past year, as I mentioned, I found there were many things that needed to be brought into order, and there is still more. He is faithful to do it if we are willing to stand in the light, as ugly as that might be at times, he can cleanse and renew centuries and even millennia of wounds by the blood of the Lamb and the power of the Holy Ghost. This is for our good, so that we will not lead lives that are to no effect, that we will not run in vain. This is what he wants for us. It pleases the Father to give us the Kingdom.

Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life

In all creation, there was only one who was worthy to open the truth to us, God’s plan for the redemption of the world. It’s ugly, it’s messy and it’s absolutely beautiful. Messiah Jesus, was the firstborn from the dead so that he might be first in all things. He leads the way. Everything is through him and for him. It is in him that God has summed up the whole cosmos. So if you want to know what God is doing and how he’s doing it, look to the Son. If you want to know what God is like, look to the Son. If you want to know what God wants to do through you, look at what he did through the firstborn of the brethren. Then realize that the same power that created the cosmos, that raised Jesus from the dead, that holds all all things together and sustains all things is at work in you to do it. This is what we were saved for. It will be ugly, it will be messy...nobody wants to hear Revelation 6-20 much less go through it, but 21 and 22 are worth it. There is Life after death.

Pray, listen and walk.

From: Christ-mas To: Easter : Luke 24v36-53

As they were saying this, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and said,'Peace be with you.' They were terrified and alarmed, and thought the were seeing a ghost.

'Why are you disturbed?' he said. 'Why do these questionings come up in your hearts? Look at my hands and feet; it really is me, myself. Touch me and see! Ghosts don't have flesh and bones like you see that I have.'

With these words, he showed them his hands and feet.

While they were still in disbelief and amazement from sheer joy, he said to them, 'Have you got something here to eat? They gave him a piece of baked fish, which he took and ate in front of them.

Then he said to them,'This is what I was talking to you about when I was still with you. Everything written about me in the law of Moses, and in the prophets and the psalms, had to be fulfilled.' Then he opened their minds to understand the Bible.

'This is what is written,' he said: 'the Messiah must suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and in his name repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, must be announced to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are the witnesses for all this. Now, look: I'm sending upon you what my Father has promised. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.'

Then he took them out as far as Bethany, and lifted up his hands and blessed them. As he was blessing them, he was separated from them and carried into heaven.

They worshiped him, and went back to Jerusalem in great joy. They spent all their time in the Temple, praising God.

As we look to the final scene in the Gospel according to Luke, we have the realization of the hope of Israel and from Israel to all people and indeed, the whole cosmos. In Messiah Jesus, a new heaven and new earth, where justice is at home. God, we see, has taken Jesus' body and made something altogether new out of it. Able to step back and forth through the curtain that separates God's realm, heaven, and our realm, earth (Psalm 115v16). Jesus is perfectly comfortable on either side, in him, you see, the two have become one. This is very difficult for many to understand, Paul invests a good bit of time throwing light upon the subject in 1 Corinthians 15. He makes it very clear that the final state of resurrection is not just spiritual, but has a new physicality about it....flesh, bone, eating, drinking...this is not to deny an intermediate state, that of angels and spirits, where we are 'at rest' and 'with Messiah' (Philippians 1v23-24)...

At these words, an argument broke out between the Pharisees and Saducees, and they were split among themselves. (The Saducees deny that there is a resurrection, or any intermediate state of 'angel' or 'spirit', but the Pharisees affirm both.) Acts 23v7-8

It is a terrifying thing to have the curtain drawn back. Especially the first time. In the Apocalypse (which means unveiling/revelation), John falls down 'as a dead man' before the Lord. But our Lord, seems to always extend words and a touch of grace,'peace be with you' says the Lord...never the less it is an awe inspiring situation, one you wouldn't trade for anything!

And here is the revelation...the biblical Christian hope is for what we see fully and finally in Messiah Jesus right here in the scripture, a fully integrated heaven and earth, this is the 'home' that the born again believer belongs to. God has summed up the cosmos in Messiah Jesus, and this is why we feel so uncomfortable in the world as it is, where His will is not being fully done on earth as in heaven, and why when we have sin in our lives as believers, when we are not walking in the good works he has prepared for us to walk in, it grates on us until we identify it, call it what it is and repent, receiving the gracious forgiveness that is ever available to us through Jesus Christ, our great high priest, the Lamb of God. Then we are not walking in the 'world' or in the 'flesh', but in Messiah.

There is more to it though, Jesus wants us not to just wait round expecting it to all work itself out, but rather to wait, in worshipful prayer and praise, until we are empowered by the promise of the Father, the Holy Spirit...power from on high, and then to go out as redeemed redeemers, New Creation's who are sent into the old creation as agents and vessels through whom New Creation pours into the world until, the earth is full of the knowledge of YHWH as the waters cover the sea, or as Paul says...the time when 'God is all and in all.' This is where King Jesus is leading us. He is the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father, but by him.

For all this, Paul can boldly encourage us, 'my dear family, be firmly fixed, unshakable, always full to overflowing with the Lord's work. In the Lord, as you know, the work you are doing will not be worthless!' 1 Corinthians 15v58

Merry Christmas! May the earth truly receive her King!

Let’s Turn This Thing Around - Luke 24v28-35

They drew near to the village where they were heading. Jesus gave the impression that he was going further, but they urged him not to.

‘Stay with us’ they said ‘it’s nearly evening; the day is almost gone.’ And he went in to stay with them. As he was sitting at table with them he took the bread and gave thanks. He broke it and gave it to them. Then the eyes of both of them were opened and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight.

Then they said to each other, ‘Do you remember how our hearts were burning inside us as he talked to us on the road, as he opened up the Bible for us?

And they got up then and there and went back to Jerusalem. There they found the eleven, and the people with them, gathered together.

They were saying, ‘The Lord really was raised! He has shown himself to Simon!’ Then they told what had happened on the road. And he was known to them in the breaking of bread.

Often times when things don’t go as we think they should we, in our disappointment, confusion and feeling of defeat we start to change direction, break away and go back to doing our own thing. We have a tendency to withdraw from whatever it was the Lord had us engaged in and enter into some sort of pity party or other unhealthy, destructive way of dealing with the situation…could be depression, substance abuse, or any other form of dealing with the core issue. It's going to come out somehow.

Jesus is still walking with you. He may give the impression that he’s ready to move on and leave you like that in order to get you to call out to him ‘Stay with us’. And it is in that moment, the moment when you open the door and he comes in and you sup together, breaking bread and giving thanks, when you share in that meal with Jesus that your eyes will be opened and you will receive the gift of repentance. You will remember the words that he has spoken to you only they will be ‘opened’ to you. And what else is there to do but get back to Jerusalem, and give your personal testimony and remind the people of what the Lord has given us to do as a single body.

I have been studying quite a bit on spiritual warfare recently and the Lord has given us some mighty tools to combat darkness. He continues to work and to reveal and 'open' to us new ways of advancing the Kingdom through new ‘spiritual technology'. He said greater things we would do. And in a world where the ‘golden calf’ has been allowed to grow up into a ‘bull’ placed right in the middle of the city, where mammon and belial, and any number of other wicked spirits seem to be entrenched in daily life, we need faith, courage, weapons and the discipleship to know what we’re doing. It seems to me though that in order to do more than bind these disgusting things, but to get them out of our lives and churches and then to start taking ground from them in the world, we need some repentance. No more rusty swords!

We need to ask ourselves why we have allowed the enemy to divide us on the battering ram of the Eucharist (Holy Communion), the good gift, that mighty weapon that declares to the world Jesus is King! Proclaiming his death until he comes!

‘The warfare we’re engaged in, you see, isn’t against flesh and blood. It’s against the leaders, against the authorities, against the powers that rule the world in this dark age, against the wicked spiritual elements in the heavenly places.’ – Ephesians 6v12

Lets look at it again, together, with fresh eyes and see just how powerful and essential it is for everyone who declares with their lips ‘Jesus is Lord’ and believes in their heart that God raised him from the dead, come together worthily for this meal. Secondly, baptism, another essential drained of its power because of divisions based on logistics and semantics…a powerful weapon that sits on the shelf. Why?

Now, let’s get on with it, back into the city, not asking ourselves, ‘Do I really ‘have’ to do that to be saved?’ It’s not just about that, it’s not just about you! That comes from the evil one!

But so that all covenant faithfulness (righteousness) would be fulfilled. That’s what Jesus did and why, and if you have him, you will do the things he did, you will walk as he walked to the degree of faithfulness you’ve been given. That’s what love looks like. That’s your personal relationship with Jesus that leads unto the Father.

‘Fight the noble fight of the faith; get a firm grasp on the life of the coming age, the life you were called to when you made the noble public profession before many witnesses.’ – 1 Timothy 6v12

Who Was That Masked Man? Luke 24v13-27

That very day, two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, which lay about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were discussing with each other all the various things that had taken place. As they were discussing, and arguing with each other, Jesus himself approached and walked with them. Their eyes, though, were prevented from recognizing him.

'You're obviously having a very important discussion on your walk,' he said; 'What's it all about?'

They stood still, a picture of gloom. Then one of them, Cleopas by name, answered him.

'You must be the only person around Jerusalem,' he said,'who doesn't know what's been going on there the last few days.'

'What things?' he asked.

'To do with Jesus of Nazareth,' he said to him. 'He was a prophet. He acted with power and he spoke with power, before God and all the people. Our chief priests and rulers handed him over to be condemned to death, and they crucified him. But we were hoping that he was going to redeem Israel!

And now, what with all this, it's the third day since it happened. But some women from our group have astonished us. They went to his tomb very early this morning, and didn't find his body. They came back saying they'd seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. Some of the folk with us went off to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they didn't see him.'

'You are so senseless!' he said to them. 'So slow in your hearts to believe all the things the prophets said to you! Don't you see? This is what had to happen: the Messiah had to suffer, and come into his glory!'

So he began with Moses, and with all the prophets, and explained to them the things about himself throughout the whole Bible.

Life can have it's disappointments.

We don't get into the college we had been trying so hard to get into. We can't seem to land that job will provide that sense of meaningfulness we long for. Our favorite football team can't get out of this losing streak. Our country is ruled by people obsessed with money, power and this global economic empire...people gas our children and publicly humiliate and kill our freedom fighters, all the while our religious leaders are pressing for this elusive thing called holiness and revival, with the more powerful lobbying to implement it by legislating it, enforcing it through violence rather than doing the hard work of making disciples of Messiah, developing character and raising children up in the way they should go. Which equates to not lifting a finger to help the situation, but rather makes it worse.

And yet in the midst of that, we go on walking...having the conversation, arguing and mourning the way things have turned out...it's not supposed to be like this! Why don't they just do what it says in the Bible! The answer, Jesus says, is that they are doing what it says in the Bible...the question is what role are you walking in today? What role is your church playing as a body? The city your planted in? Your nation your planted in? One of faith or one of doubt? One of truth or one of lies? One of destruction or one of healing? One of violence or one of peace? One of darkness or one of light? One of death or one of Life?

Today that's what is set before us, death or Life? I urge you to confront the darkness in you and around you by choosing Life. Chose Life now...and chose it again tomorrow and the next day and for ever more.

Are you in Messiah? The one who prayerfully suffers for the sake of the world and thereby overcomes it? Who refuses to try to overcome evil with evil, but rather to overcome evil with good? Are you one with the only hope of the nations? Or are you walking in the role of the world?

Perhaps you're the young radical who's decided that physical violence or destructive rebellion is the only way to bring healing? Perhaps you're the Sadducee who is just trying to keep the peace, as long as your bank account is filled up and checkbook balanced? Perhaps you've been the Pharisee who knows the bible like the back of your hand, but can't stand the thought of having a beer with the landscape guys, the painter and the unemployed plumber down at the pub? Or maybe you've become like Pilate who just wants to keep all these backward thinking desert people in line and stop them from bringing their violence to your doorstep or worse to upset your boss and then you can forget about re-election?

Or maybe, just maybe...you've come to the foot of the cross...or perhaps you've experienced the cross, that place of death...and on the other side of it you're finding new life springing forth in ways you never could have imagined...perhaps you have found yourself to be a fulfillment of our Lord's prayer...you've been caught up in the love of the one true God and are becoming like the man from Galilee...now you are in the world, but, strangely, you know you are not from the world, your being kept from the evil one, here to boldly announce the King and bring forth the Kingdom, the sovereign reign of God, his glad, wise order. You are a part of a royal priesthood in Messiah, the one they called a prophet, mighty in word and deed...who turned out to be the Son of God.

Maybe...hopefully...you have turned your whole self to our Father, in Jesus' name, and that is exactly where you are at. Want to work out your own salvation with fear and trembling?

This is how it works out. Everything exists for the sake of God and because of him; and it was appropriate that, in bringing many children to glory, he should make perfect, through suffering, the one who leads the way to salvation. For the one who makes others holy, and the ones who are made holy, all belong to a single family.

This is why he isn't ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters, when he says,

I will announce your name to my brothers and sisters;
I will sing your praise in the middle of the assembly,

and again,

I will place my trust in him,

and again,

Look, here I am, with the children God has given me.- Hebrews 2v10-13

Resurrection Now: Luke 24v1-12

The women went to the tomb in the very early morning of the first day of the week, carrying the spices they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, and when they went in they didn't find the body of the Lord Jesus.

As they were at a loss what to make of it all, suddenly two men in shining clothes stood beside them. The women were terrified, and bowed their faces towards the ground.

But the men said to them, 'Why look for the living with the dead? He isn't here - he's been raised! Don't you remember? While you were still in Galilee he told you that the son of man must be crucified, and rise again on the third day.'

And they remembered his words.

They went back, away from the tomb, and told all this to the eleven and all the others. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the wife of James, and the others with them. They said this to the apostles; and this message seemed to them just stupid, useless talk, and they didn't believe them.

Peter, though, got up and ran to the tomb. He stooped down and saw only the grave-clothes. He went back home perplexed at what happened.

Have you ever been taken by complete surprise, only to reflect back on it later and realize, oh yeah, of course it had to be that way! Or perhaps you were in eager expectation over something you had well planned and thought out, only to realize, oops, I haven't gotten it all figured out and so your immediate astonishment turns into a hunger to seek more diligently what has actually just happened? It can be an emotional roller coaster learning to trust beyond all our preconceived notions. We often think that we trust more than we really do, it's not until control is removed that we really find out what our faith is made of. That is where the disciples are right now...

Jesus, however, had given up all control and simply said to Father,'not my will, but yours be done.' And in that absolute obedience he became the Lamb worthy to open the scroll of God's perfect will. God honored him by raising him from the dead with Power on, as Luke puts it, 'the first day of the week'. Drawing us ever so subtly back the the future, back to the Genesis creation poem, letting us know that New Creation, the New Heavens and New Earth where true covenant faithfulness dwells has been completed, fully and finally in Jesus the Messiah, our King. And what is true of the King will be true of his Kingdom(Matthew 28v18-20)so it is being worked out with fear and trembling. Right now, they are just wrestling and struggling with the fact that they expected the Messiah to come at the end of history to set all things to rights, rather than in the midst of it. What is going on? This isn't what it was supposed to look like...or was this exactly how it was supposed to be?

One thing I know, and this is a non-negotiable. Jesus must be received into heaven until the ultimate renewal of all things. Our King is seated at the right hand of the Father. The result of which is that the promised Holy Spirit is being poured out upon creation. Jesus is the Savior of all mankind, especially those who believe. As it's written...

'The Lord said to my Lord,
Sit at my right hand,
Until I place your enemies
underneath your feet.'

So let everyone 'know' this fact: Death has no mastery over Messiah Jesus, God raised him from the dead and made him to be Lord and Messiah, Jesus...the crucified one, who loves you and died a gruesome death in obedience to our Father. God is Agape and He will never give up on His beloved. He has promised and he will do it, 'the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.''For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.'

Father, may we profess the gospel boldly even as our own faith grows, keeping our minds set on heavenly things and not the circumstances of the day. Be glorified in our bodies, a prepared sanctuary for you to dwell by the Spirit. May we love as you love, with a vibrant humility and a strong compassion, that you may be honored and your will be done on earth as in heaven, even as we are sent out to bring about the obedience of faith by the power of your Spirit,in Jesus' name. AMEN

Pills and Bullets: Luke 23v44-56

By the time of the sixth hour, darkness came over all the land. The sunlight vanished until the ninth hour. The veil of the temple was ripped down the middle. Then Jesus shouted out at the top of his voice, 'Here's my Spirit, Father! You can take care of it now!' And with that he died.

The centurion saw what happened, and praised God.

'This fellow', he said,'really was in the right.'

All the crowds who had come together for the spectacle saw what happened, and they went away beating their breasts. Those who knew Jesus, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, remained at a distance and watched the scene.

Now there was a man named Joseph, a member of the council. He was a good and righteous man, and had not given his consent to the court's verdict or actions. He was from Arimathaea, a town in Judaea, and he was longing for God's kingdom. He approached Pilate and asked for Jesus' body. He took it down and wrapped it in a shroud, and put it in a tomb hollowed out of the rock, where no one had ever been laid. It was the day of Preparation, and the sabbath was beginning.

The women who had followed Jesus, the ones who had come with him from Galilee, saw the tomb and how the body was laid. Then they went back to prepare spices and ointments. On the sabbath they rested, as the commandment specified.

This weekend I gave a book to my father-in-law called Agape Road. One of the things the book helped me to identify and begin to ask God to deal with was the need to be 'right'. The book identifies this as a type of giant in the land of your person that stands in opposition to God's people entering the land and thus in opposition to God. Now, to be 'right' generally means holding to a fact that one believes to be concrete. That doesn't seem like a bad thing at first and for a lot of people they believe that is in some way the same as faith.

Biblical truth is not so much like one of David's smooth small stones, nor is it so much like a hewn stone that one builds a temple with, as important as those are to the Revelation of God. Rather, biblical truth is like a pearl of great value. It shimmers as the light reflects upon it and all the different colors dance and rejoice. Or perhaps its like a diamond whose light reflects differently but always beautifully depending on how it's held in the Light.

Goliath thought he and his Philistine's were 'right'. They after all had the might, the size...every perceivable worldly advantage...so the battle must be theirs. They were, however, 'wrong'. They were ignorant of the will of the one true God, to reveal Himself and to redeem His good creation. Somewhere along the way, like everyone, they had become disconnected from God, as we all have due to sin. And so, the giant needs to be dealt with either through repentance, coming into line with the Gospel, or it must be cast out.



Here we see that Jesus had stood up against that same giant only to be crucified like so many other failed messiah's. Only Jesus, unlike anyone before him was 'in the right' making this ironically, not only a triumph, but the triumph that eternity would center on, Beginning and End. Luke want's this to be firmly established. He has given us a multitude of witnesses, from what would have been considered highly unreliable witnesses at the time (women), to a Roman centurion, to a wealthy Arimathaean, and then some. But there are principalities and powers at work that would have you disregard these witnesses...to enslave you again to unbelief, distract you with all sorts of evil to keep you from growing up into the Child of God that you are.

Luke wants us to be clear not only that there was a real Jesus who was really crucified, but that he was 'in the right' that is to say that He was in perfect communion with the Father, in relationship to His will and walking it out, Heaven and Earth were one. So there's the difference between being 'right' and being 'in the right'. To be 'in the right' is declared by God the moment you profess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead. Then begins the journey of being 'in the right'...walking in the Spirit, in all the good works God has prepared before hand that you should walk in them. So to be 'right' as in 'holding to a fact that one believes to be concrete' and unwilling to understand something from a greater depth, breadth, height or width for fear of deviation or failure is not God's way. God's Truth is relational and dynamic, always effective regardless of our personal failures to either understand or to walk out. This is grace at work, rather than law.

Try, for instance, to 'know' your spouse that by holding to them as a fact that you believe to be concrete. It just doesn't make sense. My wife and I have lived our lives in routine for a while, but peace is lacking and you eventually wake up feeling devoid of love and fruitfulness...sunken into a lifeless routine, going through the motions, no longer abiding.

That is not the kind of relationship God made us for, Christ and the Church are not made to function that way, faith doesn't work that way, and the Spirit that, like the wind, goes were it pleases, dances and rejoices, laments and wails as it flows within and according to the counsel of God's purposes certainly doesn't work that way. This is why the law never had the ability to save anyone, rather it works more like a babysitter until the Messiah comes, making the outward observance of law obsolete, because the purpose of the law is fulfilled in and through the believer by the power of the Spirit, Messiah Jesus in you.

What you do with this revelation once you wake up, is a matter of free will. Will you get lulled back into the way you were doing things before or will you refuse to be bewitched and put again under slavery to the law? That would not be faith. Faith is the end of the Law, it's fulfillment, it's purpose...enter true freedom, God's rest.

The veil has been ripped right down the middle and Heaven is being poured upon all the Earth, that's Good News...what will you do with Him? Now, I would urge you to be reconciled to God, give Jesus that hollowed out place in your heart...the seed is in. Now, hold on tight, believe God's promise...he has confirmed it by an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, you may have confidence...something miraculous is about to happen so you will 'know' that Jesus is God's Messiah and that God stands by His Word...

May we ever trust Jesus for our tomorrow, because He is already there.

Springtime Green in the Fall: Luke 23v27-43

A great crowd of the people followed Jesus, including women who were mourning and wailing for him. Jesus turned and spoke to them.

'Daughters of Jerusalem,' he said, 'don't cry for me. Cry for yourselves instead! Cry for your children! Listen: the time is coming when you will say,"A blessing on the barren! A blessing on the wombs that never bore children, and the breasts that never nursed them!" At that time people will start to say to the mountains,"Fall on us," and to the hills, "Cover us"! Yes: if this is what they do with the green tree, what will happen to the dry one?'

Two other criminals were taken away with him to be executed. When they came to the place called The Skull, they crucified him there, with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left.

'Father,' said Jesus,'forgive them! They don't know what they are doing!'

They divided his clothes, casting lots for them.

The people stood around watching. The rulers hurled abuse at him.

'He rescued others,' they said, 'let him try and rescue himself, if he really is the Messiah, God's chosen one!'

The soldiers added their taunts, coming up and offering him cheap wine.

'If you're the king of the Jews,' they said, 'rescue your self - and us too!'

But the other one told him off. 'Don't you fear God?' he said. 'Your sharing the same fate as he is! In our case it's fair enough; we're getting exactly what we asked for. But this fellow hasn't done anything out of order.'

'Jesus,' he went on,'remember me when you finally become king.'

'I'm telling you the truth,' replied Jesus,'you will be with me in paradise, this very day.'

Have you ever felt as though you had no idea what was going on? It is not a comfortable place to be. Especially for people like me. People who grew up as latch key kids. Back and forth between parents your whole life, who were trying to do the best they knew how. From the pain and joy that comes with having very little, to the pain and joy that comes from having too much. Without Christ there to teach you contentment and peace, holiness and virtue...love, faith and hope...you get wounded, you become hardened, corrupted, bitter and manipulative...sinful. This is not how things are supposed to be. You know that down to the deepest recesses of your soul, we all do. But that's just how it is. That train keeps on rolling, you're weeping and mourning on the inside, but you've become hardened. That's what we are programmed to do. Suck it up, move on, push through, get to the other side of it as best we can, up? down? left? right?...who knows?. Just don't let anyone get too close to you, they might hurt you.

Have we lost the power of mourning in our generation? Do we just bottle it up? Then we lose the true power, the power to forgive and accept forgiveness. We become dehumanized, desensitized and worst of all moved further from God, moving further from the image of the Father, who looks over the creation He once called 'very good' and sees the violence within it. The scriptures tell us this grieves Him to his very heart and it should grieve us too. We see this in Jesus, who, from the Mount of Olives, looked upon Jerusalem, weeping.

But look and see, He is the Living one, Christ Jesus, the great physician, there to not only save your soul, but to heal your land and redeem the time.

Jesus tells those following after him, not that everything will be ok, but that if this is what the world does to the one in whom the Fullness was pleased to dwell(a green tree)...what will happen to the rest of this generation who rejected God's Son, their last and only chance? There is the urgency of the Gospel. What will happen to the children of the parents who rejected the Gospel of peace? Violent rebellion, revolts, wars and rumors of wars...young rebellious kids with religious/political/nationalistic ideals and with the older generation egging them on, pouring gasoline on the dry wood. When the world comes down on them, it will be horrific.

Right then, right there...on that cross, Jesus, was becoming king. The sign above his head was meant to mock him, but it declared the truth for everyone to see...The Gospel, Jesus is Lord.

That very day the transgressor who put his faith in Christ would enter into paradise, that glorious place of rest and renewal, with the King.

We see that when it comes down to the wire, it's about faith...trust...the fear of God... Love made perfect in us.

Paul, however, would remind us that it is neither the man on the left nor the man on the right in whose image we are being conformed to, but that of the Son of God, the Messiah, the image bearer who hung on the cross between the two criminals. Him whose blood cried out and still does, 'Father, forgive them! They don't know what they are doing!'

Father, thank you, that you loved us so much that you sent your Son, Jesus, to die for our sins according to your promises, that he was buried and that he was declared the Son of God with Power by the resurrection from the dead. Thank you for all the trials and tribulations that lead us to a place of death, the cross, so that we can know you the only God and Jesus Christ, the one you sent, that we are no longer bound by seasons, but can have abundant life simply by turning to you in faith. Thank you for your faithfulness and the faithfulness of all those whom you work powerfully through. In, Jesus' name, AMEN.

Barabbas and Simon the Cyrene: Luke 23v13-26

So Pilate called the chief priests, the rulers and the people.

'You brought this man before me,' he said to them,'on the grounds that he was leading them astray. Look here, then: I examined him in your presence and I found no evidence in him of the charges you're bringing against him. Nor did Herod; he sent him back to me. Look: there is no sign that he's done anything to deserve death. So I'm going to flog him and let him go.'

'Take him away!' they shouted out all together. 'Release Barabbas for us!' (Barabbas had been thrown into prison because of an uprising that had taken place in the city, and for murder.) Pilate spoke to them again, with the intention of letting Jesus go, but they shouted back,'Crucify him! Crucify him!'

'Why?' he said for a third time. 'What's he done wrong? I can't find anything he's done that deserves death, so I'm going to beat him and let him go.'

But they went on shouting out at the tops of their voices, demanding that he be crucified; and eventually their shouts won the day. Pilate gave his verdict that their requests should be granted. He released the man who'd been thrown into prison because of rebellion and murder, and gave Jesus over to their demands.

As they led him away, they grabbed a man from Cyrene called Simon, who was coming in to the city from the outside, and they forced him to carry the cross beam behind Jesus.

The charges have been framed yet Herod didn't kill him, now he's back to Pilate and Pilate finds no fault in Jesus, yet the chief priests and rulers are determined to have Jesus crucified. Then the Gospel brings us to focus on another conflict, Jesus - God's Messiah delivering the message of peace by self-giving Love, the Kingdom of the true and living God... and Barabbas - the leader of another messianic movement with it's message of kingdom by way of violence.

Here we see, as we so often do, the crowds and religio-political leaders prefer to go the way of violence over against the way of Jesus. This, they believe, is the best way to go about things. The irony is that it is this very choice, played out over the next forty years until 70a.d. when Jesus is vindicated as his prophecies of the Temple's destruction come to fruition and those who have kept faith in Jesus the Messiah are vindicated with him. The confirmation of the New Covenant's superiority to the old become firmly fixed, Jesus is in fact God's anointed one, having had all authority in heaven and on earth given him, ascended to and seated at the right hand of the Father, ruling and reigning until all enemies are put under his feet.

And it is those at his feet...those who go to the foot of the cross to receive cleansing and healing...to be saved, who then go on to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Then we have this Simon, who is grabbed and forced to bear the cross beam for Jesus as he went on the way to fulfill his vocation.

How can we work in and through the Spirit to lead the Barabbas's of the world to Jesus? How has this part of the narrative played out in your life? Knowing Jesus, how does this effect your response to being called to bear someone else's burdens?

The Sword - Luke 23v1-12

The whole crowd of them got up and took Jesus to Pilate.

They began to accuse him. 'We found this fellow,' they said, 'deceiving our nation!

He was forbidding people to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that he is the Messiah - a king!'

So Pilate asked Jesus, 'You are the king of the Jews?'

'You said it,' replied Jesus.

'I find no fault in this man,' said Pilate to the chief priests and the crowds. But they became insistent.

'He's stirring up people,' they said, 'teaching them throughout the whole of Judea. He began in Galilee, and now he's coming here.'

When Pilate heard that, he asked if the man was indeed a Galilean. When he learned that he was from Herod's jurisdiction he sent him to Herod, who happened also to be in Jerusalem at that time.

When Herod saw Jesus he was delighted. He had been wanting to see him for quite some time now, since he'd heard about him, and hoped to see him perform some sign or other.

He questioned him this way and that but Jesus gave no answer at all. The chief priests and the scribes stood by accusing him vehemently. Herod and his soldiers treated us with contempt; they ridiculed him by dressing him up in a splendid robe, and sent him back to Pilate. And so it happened, that very day, that Herod and Pilate became friends with each other. Up until then, they had been enemies.

We have all seen the reconciliation that can happen when Jesus enters into the lives of believers. Here though we see Jesus, God's Messiah, and Pilate (the representative of Rome and Caesar). Also the climax of a long story that has been under the surface the whole time. The conflict between Jesus and Herod. The rightful King and pseudo-king of the Jews.

Jesus was not what Herod had expected though, he would not put on a show or perform a miracle. He did not call in a legion of angels. He gave no answer at all while he was mistreated. So failing to meet the expectations of Herod, he was sent again to Pilate. So it was that day that Herod and Caesar were united.

Everywhere Jesus goes people seem to become reconciled. Some for good, some for evil. But we know that once Jesus is received, we come to see that on the other side of His death it is all for life in the Resurrection. He works all things together, He is faithful. When Jesus take upon himself the sin of the world, he takes it all upon himself and carries it to the cross where it is nailed so that whosoever believes upon the name of Jesus shall be saved and they shall have eternal life. You see, it is the will of God that none should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

As for me, I have experienced discipline in Christ because I'm a sinner who is loved by God, and beyond that as Christian I count it a privilege to suffer that others might find reconciliation. Wish I could say that my motives were always pure, but they're not. The idea is to seek holiness and thereby be prepared to experience the cross. Wish I had done a better job of that. The place of death for the sake of new life. Of course the enemy will bring your fears back on you, of course long forgiven sins will be poured out on you...this is a spiritual battle for God's glory though. As I've experienced it some has been for my conviction, some for the up building of others. To look at the broad scope of things you see all the different pieces a parts coming together. Even if it means becoming the one everyone hates...it's worth it. As it's written, we are like lambs to the slaughter, all day long we are killed...why? Love. how? To experience Christ's suffering and the Power of the Resurrection. The know God and Jesus Christ whom he has sent, this is eternal life.

I'm thankful to God for the people, who have shown this to me. They are Christ-like. Pray God, may I become a better Christian husband, dad, son, brother, minister and friend through it.

Sin Manifest or Why Halloween Sucks: Luke 22v54-71

So they arrested Jesus, took him off, and brought him into the high priest's house. Peter followed at a distance. They lit a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat around it, and Peter sat in among them.

A servant girl saw him sitting by the fire. She stared hard at him. 'This fellow was with him!' she said.

Peter denied it. 'I don't know him, woman,' he said.

After a little while another man saw him and said,'You're one of them!'

'No, my friend, I'm not,' replied Peter.

After the space of about an hour, another man insisted,'It's true! This man was with him; he's a Galilean!'

'My good fellow,' said Peter, 'I don't know what you're talking about.' And at once, while he was still speaking, the cock crowed. The Master turned and looked at Peter, and Peter called to mind the words the Master had spoken to him: 'Before the cock crows, this very day, you will deny me three times. And he went outside and wept bitterly.

The men who were holding Jesus began to make fun of him and knock him about. They blindfolded him.

'Prophesy!' they told him. 'Who is it that is hitting you?'
And they said many other scandalous things to him.

When the day broke, the official assembly of the people, the chief priests and the scribes came together, and they took him off to their council.

'If you are the Messiah,' they said, 'tell us!'

'If I tell you,' he said to them,'you won't believe me. And if I ask you a question you won't answer me. But from now on the son of man will be seated at the right hand of God's power.'

'So you are the son of God, are you?' they said.

'You say that I am,' he said to them.

'Why do we need any more witnesses?' they said. 'We've heard it ourselves, from his own mouth!'

The disciples fell asleep when they were supposed to be praying, they took up swords for violence, the Temple guard came out with swords and clubs against a man who never did any violence towards anyone except to tell the truth, this mob is led by Judas (one of Jesus' own disciples) Jesus is carried off to the chief priests house so they can question him in order to twist something he says into a charge against him the next day, the guards are pushing him around and mocking him and now Jesus' prophesy is coming true in Peter...denying even knowing the very man he received as the LORD's Messiah.

As Luke leads us in the Spirit toward the cross we ought to start to become keenly aware that sin is not just a theological idea. It is not a theory that put Jesus on the cross...it is real sin rooted deeply in us that produces real death. There's another thing Luke wants us to start to come to terms with...if you stand back and look at the sweep of things...everyone is guilty, all of them, all of us...all except the perfect Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, JESUS, in whose faithfulness we trust.

Ever pray dangerous prayers? Ever ask God to judge you as you judge others? To give you only what you need, no more, no less? To show you your sin and deal with it, mercifully, but effectively? I prayed some pretty dangerous prayers this last week. The Lord is faithful. I saw the Lord do some amazing things in the lives of some people who are very dear to me. All reason to give glory to God our Father and Jesus, His Messiah.

In this scripture sin is just swarming at Jesus from every angle. Ever felt like that? Ever been involved in something like that? Let a friend down at a key moment? Bullied someone? Judged someone wrongly in your heart? Mocked someone only to find out you were in the wrong? I have.

As we move into the most demonic time of the year, our church held 7 days of praise as a means to wage war against the darkness. We are called to do that sort of thing as citizens of Heaven, ambassadors of the Kingdom. I despise halloween for several reasons... a few years back one of the closest friends I've ever had disappeared for two weeks leading up to halloween and we found her passed on...this year God brought her daughter to me via facebook for some good conversation and to share some of her struggles with me (I was blessed and encouraged her to give my wife a call for some girl talk), also as a young man a group of my friends got jumped by some people and beat up pretty bad and of course the fact remains that halloween is an anti-holy day and the majority of what goes on and its basis is not appreciated by our King, JESUS. That's what I think of when I think of halloween.

I came under some pressure and took some heat this week...and I asked for it. The Lord has used it for good. The time at CCBB 7 Days of Praise was so refreshing in the midst of it and I praise God for all the awesome people God works though. So much junk in my heart got revealed to me this week and let me just say our sin is horrifying, God does not play around and He doesn't think its funny. Haven't been giving my family the attention they deserve, marriage issues, had some roots of bitterness in me to deal with (onions actually - onions have layers), had some unforgiveness issues so I made some calls to reconcile, felt some responsibility for my brother since I didn't abstain from alcohol around him which was stupid and insensitive (here's my 'defense'....he worked in a bar :-P)...anyway, I was up just praying, meditating, wrestling through the night a couple times this week...pretty intense. And of course I go on defense mode...shifting blame, trying to look good, be right, be in control, protect my agenda (which of course I think is always in line with God's agenda...lol), all those giants we face in the land as we battle the sin that dwells in us and do business with our loving Father, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

It is an awesome thing to enter into judgment before our God, what else can you do but stand through it or fall on your face and cry out for grace? It is truth that have come to Mount Zion the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel.

Glory be to the Father, to the Son and to the Holy Ghost.

Into the Battle: Luke 22v39-53

So off they went. Jesus headed, as usual, for the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him.

When he came to the place, he said to them,'Pray that you won't come to trial.'

He then withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and knelt down to pray.

'Father,' he said,'if you wish it - please take this cup away from me! But it must be your will, not mine.' An angel appeared to him from heaven, strengthening him. By now he was in agony, and he prayed fervently. And his sweat became like clots of blood, falling on the ground. Then he got up from praying, and came to the disciples and found them asleep because of sorrow.

'Why are you sleeping? he said to them. 'Get up and pray, so that you won't come into the trial.'

While he was speaking, a crowd appeared. The man named Judas, one of the Twelve, was leading them. He came towards Jesus to kiss him, but Jesus said to him, 'Judas! Are you going to betray the son of man with a kiss?'

Jesus' followers saw what was about to happen.

'Master!' they said. 'Shall we go in with the swords?' And one of them struck the high priest's servant, and cut off his right ear.

'Enough of that!' said Jesus, and healed the ear with a touch.

Then Jesus spoke to the chief priests, the Temple guardsmen, and the elders who had come after him.

'Anyone would think I was a brigand', he said,'for you to come out with swords and clubs! Every day I've been in the Temple with you and you never laid hands on me. But your moment has come at last, and so has the power of darkness.'

A true leader never wants those in his care to undergo any sort of serious 'trial','test' or 'great tribulation'. However, this is precisely what typically happens when the hour comes for that leader to come under attack. Jesus knew that, it happened all the time with Messianic movements and other rebel groups. This was different however. Jesus, in one sense knows that he must be tried, falsely convicted and executed in Jerusalem. (Luke 13v31-33) He is prepared for that. Many people are prepared to die for their faith. As a matter of fact, I've read Jewish writers trying to refute Jesus' sacrifice by pointing to other Jewish figures who died much more horrendous deaths for their faith.

So what happened between the upper room and this point in the Gospel where Jesus, who is normally so purposed and steadfast, in control... appears to be looking for a way out? Shrinking back from his vocation? Well, he was becoming sin for us. He was heading directly into the heart of darkness...him who knew no sin, no separation from God, was marching into God-forsakenness,to take the full weight of it on himself for the sake of those whom he loves and through them for the whole world. God-forsakenness...the full mental, spiritual and physical agony of being without God. The doubts came flooding in...maybe he had heard something wrong, misunderstood a sign, maybe like Abraham and Isaac...an angel would appear at this, the last moment, and stay the sacrifice...provide another way. This is a state of absolute suffering. The mention of his sweating blood is a documented condition very rarely found, but when it happens it is due to the person being amidst the highest levels of stress and mental anguish. The angel appears and does not provide an escape from this great tribulation, but rather the strength to stand through it. There is no other way.

He gets up and finds his disciples asleep for sorrow. Their flesh got the best of them. It does that sometimes, but He is merciful. He has taught them the whole time to pray...'lead us not into the perilous trial, but deliver us from evil'...he has prayed in the high priestly prayer that they not be taken out of the world, but they be kept safe from the evil one. The darkness.

His disciples taking up swords...well that was as ridiculous as the mob showing up with swords and clubs. Apparently, there is still little to no understanding of His Kingdom message, the message of peace...as though evil means could ever bring about righteous ends...He is neither a rebel zealot nor a militant messiah...but the answer has been given from Heaven and it has to be this way, the time for explaining is over. Now is the time for battle.

What about us?

We are told by the Apostle Peter (1 Peter 4v12-13) 'Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation.'

We are told by the Apostle James (James 1v12) 'Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.

We are told by the author of Hebrews 'It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline?' shortly after he reminds us that we 'have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin'

We are told by Paul to 'take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, and HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, and having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.'

And pray God we never lose sight of the fact that 'we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.'

May God's grace fill us and cover us. Blessed Father, by your Word, have mercy on us for our failings...for they are many. May Your spirit fall afresh upon us as You lead us forward in triumphant procession. May we, as one body in Messiah, remain alert and in fervent prayer, careful to never let our love grow cold, knowing Your faithfulness through Jesus Christ our King. May we be found in Him, not having a covenant faithfulness of our own derived from the Law or any other means, but that which is through faith in Messiah,the covenant faithfulness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that we may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that we may attain to the resurrection from the dead. I pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen.

All i Do is WIN! WIN! WIN! : Luke 22v24-38

A quarrel began among them: which of them was to be seen as the most important?

'Pagan kings lord it over their subjects,' said Jesus to them,'and people in power get themselves called "Benefactors".

That's not how it's to be with you. The most important among you ought to be like the youngest. The leader should be like the servant. After all, who is the more important, the one who sits at the table or the one who waits on him? The one at table, obviously! But I am with you here like a servant.

'You are the ones who have stuck it out with me through the trials I've had to endure. This is my bequest to you: the kingdom my Father bequeathed to me! What does this mean? You will eat and drink at my table, in my kingdom, and you will sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

'Simon, Simon, listen to this. The satan demanded to have you. He wanted to shake you into bits like wheat. But I prayed for you; I prayed that you wouldn't run out of faith. And, when you turn back again, you must give strength to your brothers.'

'Master,' replied Simon, 'I'm ready to go with you to prison - or to death!'

'Let me tell you, Peter,' replied Jesus, 'the cock won't crow today before you have three times denied that you know me.'

'When I sent you out,' Jesus said to them,'without purse or bag or sandals, were you short of anything?'

'Nothing,' they replied.

'But now,' he said, 'anyone who has a purse should take it, and the same with a bag. And anyone who doesn't have a sword should sell his cloak and buy one. Let me tell you this: when the Bible says, "He was reckoned with the lawless," it must be fulfilled in me. Yes; everything about me must reach its goal.'

'Look, Master,' they said,'we've got a couple swords here.'

'That's enough!' he said to them.

Being a Christian leader is difficult. It turns the worlds understanding of leadership on its head. Christian leadership, means the greatest glory you can have looks like this...

Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.

Christian leadership is difficult. That is an understatement. We need to be praying for our leaders...always.

There is something about the vocation, something about how the kingdom comes and will continue to come that requires the called to be prepared for a certain level of loneliness. Pick any major biblical leader, from Moses to the Prophets to Jesus and beyond. There are those who will always say, well I have God so I'm never lonely, and they may quote some scripture like, 'there is someone who sticks closer than a brother'...and that is true, but we were meant for more...God wants a family of image bearers, a grand one to carry forth his purpose and that's why he promised Abraham just that, because He so loves the world and wants to fill it with Himself as the waters cover the sea. God wants us to have accountability, honest communication, a love that spans lengths and breadths and heights and depths. Looking at Jesus here, we see his utter frustration though. He has been trying to prepare those in his care for what is about to happen for round three years now. They have constantly, almost determinedly, misunderstood him, he has had to battle doubt, people standing in direct opposition to him, fake friends, friends who fake, being lied to and being lied about. Most Christians, even many Christian leaders are just not prepared for the reality and the gravity and the depth of this kind of testing and trial. Jesus has been trying to prepare them for the battle of a lifetime...He has told them that this requires bearing a cross...a cross is a weight the world lays on you, it is the weight the evil one lays on you to show that you are not faithful, to win his case... a case that ever so subtly is the evil ones accusation against our God...'How is it that you, a 'good' God are so faithful to such a corrupt creation'...May God rebuke him! and may we be God's answer to the accuser's underhanded charges against God our Father. May we be like Job and ultimately Jesus (who was greater than Job, who suffered faithfully even through death. God restored EVERYTHING and then some to Job, and how much more will he COMPLETELY restore and reward those who stand faithfully in His own Son? And what types of people ought we to be in holiness in order to stand through the Day of the Lord? Knowing this, that the creation as it is...is passing away and will flee His holy presence, giving birth to a New Heaven and a New Earth...where Righteousness dwells. Amen Maranatha! 'Behold, I make all things new' says the Lord. Our personal salvation is but a seed in that garden, so let us not become ignorant of God's good intention and His faithfulness to His own purpose. It is for His namesake, and for His glory which He graciously crowns us with through His faithfulness and His great love shown forth for the whole world (1 John 2v2) in Jesus Christ our Lord, that none of us can boast!

Peter, presumably the leader to be, still doesn't get it...he boldly proclaims how far he's willing to go...Jesus just shakes his head and says, brother...I've prayed for you...for what? That your faithfulness would not fail...your gonna fail, but I've prayed that your faith will not fail...Jesus prayed that he will not lose sight of God's faithfulness to forgive and to restore, to tear down the works of the devil and to thus glorify God...the disciples, well, they still don't get his picture language in the last section, they still think he wants them to get their money together and take up actual swords and turn to the worlds ways of violence to win the battle they are headed into. The battle where the covering is taken off and their metal is tested. Those weapons won't do them or us any good in the war He's waging...the disciples misunderstanding and taking up swords, however, is still under the sovereignty of God...Jesus himself has said that it must be fulfilled that "He was reckoned with the lawless"...that will be part of what crucifies our Savior. The sin of the disciples.

'THAT'S ENOUGH!' roars the Lion of Judah and he still does...

The Last Supper: Luke 22v1-23

The time came for the festival of unleavened bread, known as Passover. The chief priests and the scribes looked for a way to assassinate Jesus, a difficult task because of the crowds.

The satan entered into Judas, whose surname was Iscariot, who was one of the company of the Twelve. He went and held a meeting with the chief priests and officers, to discuss how he might hand Jesus over. They were delighted, and promised to pay him. He agreed, and started to look for an opportunity to hand him over to them when the crowds weren't around.

The day of unleavened bread arrived, the day when people had to kill the Passover lamb. Jesus dispatched Peter and John.

'Off you go,' he said,'and get the Passover ready for us to eat.'

'Where d'you want us to prepare it?' they asked him.

'Listen carefully,' said Jesus. 'As you go into the city a man will meet you carrying a jar of water. Follow him, and when he goes into a house, go after him. Then say to the householder there,"The teacher says,'Where is the living-room where I can eat the Passover with my disciples?'" And he will show you a large upstairs room, laid out and ready. Make the preparations there.'

So they went and found it as he had said to them, and they prepared the Passover.

When the time came, Jesus sat down at table, and the apostles with him.

'I have been so much looking forward to eating this Passover with you before I have to suffer,' he said to them.

'For - let me tell you - I won't eat it again until it's fulfilled in the kingdom of God.'

Then he took a cup, and gave thanks, and said,'Take this and share it among yourselves. Let me tell you, from now on I won't drink from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.'

Then he took some bread. He gave thanks, broke it and gave it to them.

'This is my body,' he said, 'which is given for you. Do this in memory of me.'

So too, after supper, with the cup:'This cup', he said,'is the new covenant, in my blood which is shed for you.

But look here! The hand of the one who will betray me is with me at this table. The son of man is indeed going, as it is marked out for him; but woe betide that man by whom he is betrayed!'

They began to ask each other which of them was going to do this.

Luke has told us that Jesus is headed to Jerusalem to accomplish his Exodus. Jesus longs for his disciples to understand what he is doing and at the center of that longing has been his desire to share this meal with them. When Jesus wanted them to understand the atonement he did not offer a theological treatise, but something to do...share a simple meal...a meal rich with meaning,importance and truth. This is a Passover meal, the powers of evil...like Pharaoh's regime... are gathering round and doing everything they can to prevent it, Jesus has been preaching judgment on Israel and Jerusalem, and that judgment was going to come to fruition, but Jesus was going to lay down his life as the Passover lamb to allow his people to escape it. How? By taking the full weight of all the world's evil upon himself. The 'satan's' job is to accuse and that accusation would begin here with Judas...Jesus has been and would be falsely accused of being a false messiah, a deceiver, a false prophet, and worse by some...essentially a liar who is putting Israel in danger...in fact Jesus was innocent, it was Israel who was guilty, but he would take the punishment, because with all the powers of evil doing their worst, even to crucify the one who brings salvation, it is by his faithfulness in that event that God would defeat all of those powers. Those powers will still rage and will still seek to pull God's people back into slavery, but the rescue is secure.

Father, grant us mercy that we might be clothed in a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other as you've forgiven us that we may come to Your table in a worthy manner and do so in remembrance of the holy one, the crucified one, the resurrected one, the ascended one, Jesus Christ our Lord, your beloved Son. Amen

Sebastian's Favorite Prayer

I had the opportunity to join my friends from Kairos (translates 'God's special time') Prison Ministry for eight weeks of preparation and four days spent in Martin County Correctional Institution where I had the opportunity to spend time with some amazing guys, who've had a real hard road and ,honestly, have done some pretty terrible stuff...but haven't we all. The truth is most of us just never got busted. The guys on the inside (we call them 'candidates')were just amazed by the love of God in His people, both those of us who where there and all those who where praying and sacrificing of themselves to make the weekend happen. I was at the table of Paul and we earned that name. The guys at my table ribbed me a bit since I was the 'youngest dude' on the Kairos team. That's ok by me though, most of the guys on my team are like these spiritual powerhouses (don't tell them I said that though!), Pastor Steve talks to you about the power of forgiveness and the Spirit just lifts the weight off of you, Pastor Shamus just says to you 'peace' as he's shaking your hand and you feel peace wash over you. My friend Al has this joy in service that is almost disgustingly infectious. Denny, who leads the worship, has got this gentleness and commitment to the team that is just flat out humbling. I could go on through the whole team, but let me just say that, for me, these are the guys who take Matthew 5v16 and put flesh and blood on it. It's such a blessing to be in such and amazing Family.

Anyway, part of the ministry is that everybody gets these little green books. They aren't fancy, but they mean a lot to the guys who are just having their first experience of Christ. I keep mine in my car and Sebastian has been picking something out every morning to read for worship time (Our special time with God) with Ayden and I as we drive to school. It's a great time to remember all our Kairos friends too. Tonight at dinner we were talking with my wife about it and Sebastian said his favorite is page 11. We spent a good amount of time talking over the 'big words' and what we are actually coming to God with in this prayer. Anyway...I said all that to share this with you:

Jesus, come join us
in our journey
as we seek your will
for this community
in this environment.

Teach us to love each other
as you love us,
to give ourselves
as you give yourself
that the kingdom of God
might be made present to all. Amen