Godgrown

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  Mark 10:27 am on December 5, 2010 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: christmas ( 3 )   

  Keeping the Long View 

  Now its Ethiopia’s turn.  After speaking to Moab and Damascus, Isaiah wants to share God’s Word through prophecy to the nation at the headwaters of the Nile (far north of modern day Ethiopia).  This nation had recently conquered Egypt, and was gathering nearby nations in an attempt to ally against the onslaught of the coming Assyrian Empire (north of Israel).  Ethiopian envoys were traveling to Jerusalem in hopes of adding a partner in warding off Assyrian attack.

  But Isaiah sees any alliance with people as betraying their alliance to Yahweh God.

  The prophet hopes that Jerusalem will not take the deal to ally with Ethiopia, and describes God as present, not absent, only waiting to make his move.  At the right time, he will single-handedly deal with the Assyrian threat.

  Its hard for me to take such a hard line on dealing with human endeavors.  I hear things like, “Pray as if God controls it all, but work as if its all up to you.”  Proverbs says, “Man prepares the horse for battle, but the LORD provides the victory.” I hear Isaiah saying something totally different - “Sit back and relax, and at the right time, God will take care of this on his own- trust God, not your own strength or the strength of your alliances.”

  Can I really give God that much credit?  While all of Isaiah’s world was stressing out, he hears God say:

  4 For the Lord has told me this:

  “I will watch quietly from my dwelling place—

  as quietly as the heat rises on a summer day,

  or as the morning dew forms during the harvest.”

  Isaiah gives one last prophecy for Ethiopia.  He says that years after this whole fiasco is over, Ethiopia will join nations from all over in bringing gifts to the LORD on Mount Zion (Jerusalem).  To “not freak out” over present worries, but to keep the long view.

  Years later – 3 magi (one historical tradition includes an Ethiopian in this small band of travelers) would bring gifts to a baby-king that had been smuggled into Jerusalem.  That baby was God’s covert-operation – his silent plan to take over the world with love.  When God is silent – when terror is at your door step – keep the “long view” – salvation might just be in your midst, wrapped in swaddling clothes and laying in a manger.

  

  

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  Mark 8:05 am on November 10, 2010 Permalink | Reply  

  Hebrews 6 

  What does it mean in verse 4 that “It is impossible to bring to repentance those who were originally enlightened…and then who turn away from God.”  I’d say that its not a metaphysical impossibility, but a psycho-social one.  He is speaking to friends who are on the verge of throwing in the towel.  They are 2nd Generation Christians who are being heavily persecuted.  People who give in and return to the Kingdom of the World never choose to seek out such a “upstream” difficult life again.  They’d rather go with the flow – which the author sees as the equivalent of death.  But after the warning, he encourages his audience that he sees them as intentional, “not lazy” and on the path to inheritance!

  Abraham then becomes the model for the author as he tries to depict a life lived fighting the tide.  Christians are like refugees, like Abraham, “who have fled” who need something to “take hold of” to prevent them from perishing or becoming like people adrift at sea who need an “anchor” (6:19).  The author depicts Jesus as an ANCHOR that locks in securely to God himself – who is in the “inner sanctuaries” of heaven.

  At this point the author is again using beautiful, and encouraging rhetoric.  Imagine you are a group of 8 frightened people meeting in a tiny Roman apartment.  What power is there in that?  But if you begin to imagine things you can’t overtly see – that you are living the life Abraham lived, if you have an ANCHOR in Jesus Christ – who has moved into heaven, and not just into heaven but into the sanctuary of heaven…into the INNER sanctuary – the Holy of Holies; to the very throne of God – and linked you directly to him – that would change your outlook as you face difficulty in this life – much like a ship faces storms on the surface of the water, but remains secure because they’ve laid an anchor in the seabed below.

  
   
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  Mark 9:45 am on August 29, 2010 Permalink | Reply  

  TRUST – the WAY and the DESTINATION 

  “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me…” — Jesus, John 14:1

  “TRUST” is the main issue on Jesus’ heart as he gives his disciples a “farewell” speech.  There is such deep Trinitarian theology in these few chapters, I’m really looking forward to dwelling in the reality of the Godhead over the next few days.  But truly, Jesus does not begin his final talk with his disciples by reinforcing their doctrinal beliefs, or by pop-quizzing them on their Trinitarian orthodoxy…no, to Jesus there is something far more important than anything else.

  Deeper than theology, deeper than doctrine…is TRUST.  It is the first developmental task a human must achieve.

  Fully-formed adults all around us are still waiting for someone to teach them how to trust, and thus still function as scared, insecure little infants.  The cynicism and skepticism of this age is profound, and I believe it is partly because we put our trust in things that will inevitably fail us.  Politicians, love-relationships, money, our health…

  But Jesus promotes an attitude of TRUST.  Trust in him.  He is worthy of your trust…quite possibly your most precious asset. Not only is it the avenue by which Christ can enter our hearts and we enter his, but it transforms our approach to life!  If you have an ATTITUDE of TRUST, then your APPROACH to every relationship will grow out of faith, not fearfulness.  Jesus, no matter what happens in this election, or relationship, or job, or doctor’s appointment…JESUS will always be trustworthy – he will never fail us.

  In what, specifically, is Jesus asking us to trust him?  From his words, it seems he wants us to trust that he is both the WAY and the DESTINATION.

  Speaking with his disciples, Jesus begins admitting to them that he is leaving and preparing a place for them with the Father.  He tells them that they “know the way,” and will come after him to get there.  Thomas, thankfully, asks a clarifying question – “How will we know the way if we’ve never been there before?”

  Jesus then turns the metaphor of “way” on its head and says that they know the Way because they know him – Jesus IS the Way!  But he goes on to say that he is in the Father and the Father is in him.  Also, he says that the place that God dwells is in Christ – the new Temple.

  If we see Jesus as both destination and way, we will develop a sense of spiritual satisfaction, and continued development in our maturity as disciples.  We aren’t left hungering and craving something new all the time (new ideas about God, a new church or community to meet my needs, etc) – we already have complete “arrival” in the person of Jesus – but we don’t see the Way of Jesus as a once-and-for-all list of propositions to be defended…we are always on a journey with him – he our “trailblazer” (Heb 6:20) and we are his followers!  In following Jesus, we live in humility – realizing that we haven’t “arrived” yet – we are still “the Wandering People of God,” hoping and longing for the complete rest waiting for us when we know and can see with our own eyes the answers to all our questions.