Thursday, April 23, 2009
Living From Who We Are
Last night was our last lecture class for Galatians. (Always bittersweet for me.) To begin the lesson, I had them start back at the first of the letter and begin looking for descriptions of our status as children of God. We started with "rescued"...and went from there....and came up with an incredibly hopeful list of who we are in Christ. All of these things we had seen over the past 13 weeks. (You should try doing the exercise.) Anyway, the reason I had them do that, is because I wanted that list to be the "backdrop" for everything else we talked about the rest of the night. Because at some point in the lesson, Keller makes this statement: "When we obey God out of grateful joy that comes from A HIGH CONSCIOUSNESS OF OUR STATUS AS CHILDREN OF GOD...when we do that, the idols which controlled our lives are disempowered and we are free to live for God." So, what I did was to first focus on what it is that can be so powerful that it can cause my idols to be disempowered and is so powerful that it brings true freedom that allows me to live for God which is what I desire most....and what I have highlighted above is the central thing. Our status as children of God. Constantly being reminded of that reality and choosing to live from that position! In every single area where you are struggling right now, I encourage you to "preach the gospel to yourself"....reminding yourself of your status as a child of God (especially as defined in the book of Galatians and Ephesians) and live your life today FROM that position. Don't live it from your feelings, your wrong desires, your rebellious nature....rather fight against those things and hold onto the truth and the hope of the gospel. Remember what John the Baptist preached? "Repent and Believe". That is our sermon for today and everyday: Repent and believe!
Monday, April 6, 2009
With Unveiled Faces
Going to the Western Wall (or as some call it, the Wailing Wall) was quite an experience. The west wall of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem is said to be what was left of Solomon’s original Temple after its destruction.
Men, women and children from all religious backgrounds are drawn to this most sacred shrine in Judaism. Many believe there is something magical in coming here. Some report that they experience the presence of God while touching these ancient ruins. Thousands of prayers are written on small pieces of paper, folded carefully and placed into the cracks of the walls. While the men gather on one side and the women on the other, many ritualistic traditions are still practiced. Three times a day the Jewish people pray and they do so with phylacteries tied around their forehead while covered in prayer shawls. It is believed that the Divine Presence never leaves this place and ever since the Holy of Holies was destroyed, the idea of Divine Presence has become associated with the Wailing Wall.
While the experience was somewhat overwhelming, I felt no special Presence or that God had heard me any differently than when I pray in my car. While many believe that the Western Wall is the “shortest route to God’s ear”, I found myself questioning it all. “Is this an implication that if you really want to feel a ‘special holiness’, this sensitivity is most pronounced at the Wall?” “Am I not the temple of the Holy Spirit?” “Hasn’t Jesus’ sacrifice paved the way for me to approach God’s throne of grace boldly and with confidence?” “Am I missing something by not doing it the ‘right way’?”
As these dear people wailed at the remembrance of the wreckage of the original Temple, I stood there thrilled at its destruction. I understood the Scriptures from the New Covenant to say that without disrupting the first temple, this new way of relating to God would not be possible. Jesus is our access to the Most Holy Place, not an ancient wall. Instead of placing a folded, written prayer in one of the cracks, I found myself praying for their veiled, deceptive hearts to be set free. Yet, it felt terribly disrespectful as I walked forward in gratitude and freedom, while the woman next to me walked in reverse, her veil still covering her heart as well as her head.
“But when anyone turns to the Lord (and not a wall), the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into His image with ever increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” (2 Cor. 3:16-18; emphasis added)
So as we gaze at and contemplate Jesus, the more the Spirit shows us His glory. We are being transformed into the likeness of what we see, like beholding something in a mirror. As we focus on the beauty of Christ and His acceptance of us, we experience freedom and it liberates us to grow in love, joy, peace and self-control. This natural growth resonates more with my spirit than the mechanical peering at a wall hoping for a Presence that is already ours
Men, women and children from all religious backgrounds are drawn to this most sacred shrine in Judaism. Many believe there is something magical in coming here. Some report that they experience the presence of God while touching these ancient ruins. Thousands of prayers are written on small pieces of paper, folded carefully and placed into the cracks of the walls. While the men gather on one side and the women on the other, many ritualistic traditions are still practiced. Three times a day the Jewish people pray and they do so with phylacteries tied around their forehead while covered in prayer shawls. It is believed that the Divine Presence never leaves this place and ever since the Holy of Holies was destroyed, the idea of Divine Presence has become associated with the Wailing Wall.
While the experience was somewhat overwhelming, I felt no special Presence or that God had heard me any differently than when I pray in my car. While many believe that the Western Wall is the “shortest route to God’s ear”, I found myself questioning it all. “Is this an implication that if you really want to feel a ‘special holiness’, this sensitivity is most pronounced at the Wall?” “Am I not the temple of the Holy Spirit?” “Hasn’t Jesus’ sacrifice paved the way for me to approach God’s throne of grace boldly and with confidence?” “Am I missing something by not doing it the ‘right way’?”
As these dear people wailed at the remembrance of the wreckage of the original Temple, I stood there thrilled at its destruction. I understood the Scriptures from the New Covenant to say that without disrupting the first temple, this new way of relating to God would not be possible. Jesus is our access to the Most Holy Place, not an ancient wall. Instead of placing a folded, written prayer in one of the cracks, I found myself praying for their veiled, deceptive hearts to be set free. Yet, it felt terribly disrespectful as I walked forward in gratitude and freedom, while the woman next to me walked in reverse, her veil still covering her heart as well as her head.
“But when anyone turns to the Lord (and not a wall), the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into His image with ever increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” (2 Cor. 3:16-18; emphasis added)
So as we gaze at and contemplate Jesus, the more the Spirit shows us His glory. We are being transformed into the likeness of what we see, like beholding something in a mirror. As we focus on the beauty of Christ and His acceptance of us, we experience freedom and it liberates us to grow in love, joy, peace and self-control. This natural growth resonates more with my spirit than the mechanical peering at a wall hoping for a Presence that is already ours
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