Godgrown

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  Mark 8:39 am on November 27, 2010 Permalink | Reply  

  Hiding Under the Headlines 

  Reading through the Bible can make one pretty Israel-centric.  The truth is, it was a pretty small actor right in the middle of a highway for multiple empires and agencies of the ancient world.  Assyria is one of our major players in Isaiah, along with Babylon, Edom, Egypt, Moab and Philistia.  These were some of the REAL movers and shakers of their day.

  For instance, Sargon II, the King of Assyrian (specifically mentioned in Isaiah 20:1) let his army charge through Israel and parts of Judah in order to deal with a pesky rebellion that was popping up in his tribal areas.  Wow!  He ran through the Holy Land like it was some inconvenience! Nobody really noticed the Israelites, which allowed them to survive and thrive for hundreds of years.

  The point is, God is always doing something right under the noses of the world powers. In the midst of embattled territory somewhere between Egypt to the South, Assyria to the North, and Philistia to the West was a tiny nation (100mi long and 40mi wide) who held to a promise that God spoke a promise to their ancestor and that all the world would be blessed through that promise – not through might and military strength, but through love.

  Centuries after Isaiah was dead, his writings and prophecies came in a fresh way to that tiny, forgotten nation – scarred with the shame of exile and rotting with doubt and defeat.  Again in the First Century, Israel was again in political duress, facing imminent annihilation.  Many of the people were looking for a strong Messiah King to rebel against the Roman oppression and take back their land for God.

  But rather than come in might, God himself was smuggled onto the scene like a covert operative, under the cover of darkness – as a helpless baby – aiming to take over the world with love.

  It’s still happening today, right under the noses of our world powers, if you can only have eyes to see it.

  
   

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  Mark 9:20 am on November 26, 2010 Permalink | Reply  

  Place all Your Bets on the Baby 

  There are many things to put your trust into these days.  Many hope it will be their product, or their news show, or their candidate or… the list goes on and on.  People know that what people trust will determine where they put their investment of hope, money, and more.  What you trust is what you ultimately place your entire life.

  In times like ours where we get hundreds of product advertisements each day, where politicians are spending more on the last election cycle than ever before, where pharmaceutical companies are spending hundreds of millions hoping you’ll trust their slightly-tested products…its hard to know who to truly trust — where to place your bets.

  Isaiah was living in what seemed like the last days of his life.  Horror and destruction was essentially waiting on all sides of Jerusalem.  He saw his nation’s massacre as a foregone conclusion.  And yet he was not consumed with conspiracy and fear.  His hope was not in an army’s strength or in another promising candidate.

  He places all his bets on a baby.

  His hope is farther down the road than the headlines of his day would like him to focus.

  This baby is given four nicknames – “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace.” This son will be heir to Yahweh’s estate, (Ps 2:8) the earth and its nations, and Yahweh gives his son the power to govern the earth with peace and justice.

  6 For a child is born to us,

  a son is given to us.

  The government will rest on his shoulders…

  7 His government and its peace

  will never end.

  He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David

  for all eternity.

  The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies

  will make this happen!

  What I would give to have each Christian living in America see that they are a part of HIS Government – one that overflows with eternal peace; here in America, we are “resident aliens.”  There is no hope for even the best governments of men.

  But living in despair and fear of some coming societal collapse only puts your trust in your own fear, not in the hope of God’s Son – who holds your very life in the palm of his hand.

  Let that sink in – are you a citizen of a nation, or a citizen of the Kingdom of Peace?  Where do you place your trust?  In Social Security?  In health care?  In your bank account?   Think carefully about where your hard-earned investments typically flow to – your time, your TV shows, your money and where you spend or save it…that’s a clue of what you truly believe in.

  May it be in the baby of God – the counter-intuitive King of Peace, establishing his kingdom in the middle of our wars.

  
   
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  Mark 8:28 am on November 19, 2010 Permalink | Reply  

  Swords into Plow Shears, the USS Midway into a Dance Floor! 

  Isaiah 2

  

  Isaiah begins his book of prophecy with Judah and Jerusalem – giving almost 10 chapters to their fate as a broken nation.  It begins with an apocalyptic, yet hopeful picture of the last days – vision-casting a time when all people who joyfully go up the mountain of God – and that God would teach his ways to everyone.  That all nations will be ruled by God, and that weapons of war and destruction will be transformed into tools of peace and productivity.

  “They will beat their swords into plow shears and spears into pruning hooks” (2:4) is a beautiful picture of peace and prosperity and cooperation.  It is amazing how much you can accomplish when you are not focused on killing or being killed!

  I had an Isaiah 2:4 moment when I visited San Diego last summer.  I was walking by the Seaport Village, near an active navy base.  The ships and vessels were gargantuan!  And right in the middle of it all was the USS Midway – the longest-serving aircraft carrier in Navy history.  Now the deck of the boat has been converted into a dance floor, and another nearby area has been converted into a restaurant.  As much violence and wrath as this ship may have seen, I find it oddly beautiful that we can “beat our sword into a plow shear” and enjoy a peaceful meal while we dance on the face of war, praying for peace.

  That doesn’t mean we forget how peace was accomplished – in this world, it unfortunately has come through might and violence.  Until the US and every other country throws up the white flag, and until the lion lays down with the lamb, we continue to pray for the end of this madness. And we as Christians can be the voice of the prophet, like Isaiah to pray for peace while staring down the barrel of the Babylonian Empire.