A women's book?

The Book of Women's Biblical Affirmation. Really?

Life beyond "Yes!" - For today's full-text click here
(We encourage everyone to read the full text. We hold each other accountable as we pray, read and engage the Bible. If you feel the text has not been handled well please comment and give thoughtful correction. This is what Scripture means when it encourages us to wrestle with the Bible and mentally struggle with it and inwardly digest it.)

I wrote a paper in seminary for which I received a very good mark but got a lot of red ink! The professor is a self-styled "feminist-theologian" and the course studied Ruth and Esther as heroines of the Bible. In our readings this week, we encounter carefully shaped snippets from Esther. Please! Take a few moments and read the entire book (like the #UFO's in the newsfeeds this morning - I think you can handle the whole truth about this little book). Esther is a very short book with an engaging (at times even shocking) narrative. Esther has also proven to be something of a challenge for students of the Bible who practice close careful reading of the text.

Do we really want to gloat over an execution?

In the first few moments of that seminary course, we were asked about our interests in Esther. Some responded that Esther interested them as a type of "female Christ;" others positioned Esther as a role model for the strong modern Christian woman. Many responses were grounded on the fact that Esther is one of the only two canonical books bearing female names so was important for women. This should leave us stunned. These notions are not unique to that class; sermons and commentaries founded upon such distortions abound! Warning bells must sound at teachings of Esther (or any reading) that promote self-affirmation, self-acceptance, or any socio-political doctrine apart from God's redemptive desires. Blaise Pascal insisted that Scripture can be difficult to read but asserted that if we seek to evade the harshness in reading "then the full depth of God's character, work, and vocation in Christ will be pushed aside as well" (1966: frag. 287). All of Scripture seeks to reveal two fundamental truths according to Pascal: God's persistent redemptive love and the comprehensive corruption of human life and nature.

As we read Esther the questions we bring to it (and all Scripture) should direct us toward God's grace-filled redemption of those who seek His face. Any reading that minimizes either God's grace or human failure must be brought under suspicion. Esther is not the story of empowered or godly women nor of a defended people. Esther is not a revelation of human righteousness or godliness. Esther is the story of a faithful God seeking His people. Esther is a story full of critical moments, of opportunities to surrender to God and accept His ways. Esther may be a story of what we may judge "good" outcomes but they are not all "God" outcomes. Esther reveals that God works within comprehensive human failure to protect and redeem those who seek Him. God is NOT mentioned in Esther. The faithful Jews in Israel are not mentioned in Esther. Yet God is the subject and faithful people are the object of this book.

The diaspora Jews were not living as God's people in the land God gave His people. There is no evidence that Esther, Mordecai or any other character in the narrative knows God or His ways. Yet, God's people (the Hebrew peoples in Israel) needed protection from threats originating in corruption hundreds of miles away, inspired in godless individuals, and executed by rebellious social and political structures. Our ignored and unmentioned God worked in this godless Babylon to preserve His unmentioned people. Placing God and His redemptive purpose in the fore of our quest within Scripture reveals a very different teaching - Esther, Mordecai, the diaspora and the gentiles are to be mourned not celebrated. The brutality, belligerence, arrogance and hatred within our brothers and sisters separated from God is not something to be celebrated. Do you not think God mourns for the lost? How can we possibly align such celebratory teaching with our Christ hanging and bleeding upon a Roman Cross?

To live our yes we must know our God. Our primary question for Esther (and all Scripture) then must be, what are we shown about our passionate, Loving and suffering God? This question is the only true ends of Theology. In seeking God we learn of divine Love and of God's passion to redeem His people.

In living our yes we approach Scripture humbly and so we find our “God who makes [us] inwardly aware of [our] wretchedness and His infinite mercy: who unites Himself with [us] in the depths of [our] soul: who fills it with humility, joy, confidence, and love: who makes [us] incapable of having any other end but Him” (Pascal 1966: frag. 449).

Let us pray that as we approach the Bible we do not seek affirmation and rationalization of our worldly self-images, but rather transformation into who God desires us to be. Let us understand that our "yes" necessarily involves our surrender of self.

For today's full-text click here

At ACrossMission you will find opportunities to live your yes, walking with at risk ministries in East Africa.

What will your 'yes' look like?

Radically Christ Following

Radically Christ Following

Life beyond "Yes!" - For today's full-text click here
(We encourage everyone to read the full text. We hold each other accountable as we pray, read and engage the Bible. If you feel the text has not been handled well please comment and give thoughtful correction. This is what Scripture means when it encourages us to wrestle with the Bible and mentally struggle with it and inwardly digest it.)

"Peter, do you love Me?" In this question Peter found restoration. Three times he was asked and three times he responded "Yes." Following the third 'yes' Jesus began the commissioning of Peter with the words: "Follow me." From that moment, Peter's life changed and Peter himself was transformed. Following Christ has both affect and effect; following Christ looks like something. There is a change, a difference between life before Christ and life after our 'yes' to Him.

4th Century Etchings of Peter and Paul

As we read the Bible carefully we will see that human history spins out of control not when we follow Jesus, not when we trust God, not when we act obediently in love, but rather when we seem incapable of being Christ-followers.

The Acts of the Apostles which we read from last week, is a wonderful testimony to the very advent of the Church. It is also a sad testimony to the very root of our theological drifting from Jesus and the teachings He gave us through the Apostles. Avarice, lust, pride, dishonesty, and idolatry begin to fracture and fragment the Book of Acts churches even as the Gospel penetrates the darkness of first-century human civilization. Heresies spring up remarkably quickly to accommodate, modulate and excuse our sin. One can almost hear the echo of Eden as self-styled leaders begin to shape teaching: surely Jesus did not say THAT! Surely He did not mean that literally!! Yet, as we look closer, the Book of Acts reveals the radically Christ-following Church; a remnant that stands within the dust of fracture and fragmentation proclaiming the radical Gospel grounded upon the self-giving Love Jesus calls us to live. That remnant Church is the Church we are called to be. In that remnant Church, persecuted, impoverished and imprisoned we see what we are called to be - Christ's Body.

Will we be Christ's Body reaching out to all the world, or, will we seek every 'if, and, or but' to excuse and modify God's command and commission?

"My child, do you love Me?" What will your 'yes' look like?

For today's full-text click here

At ACrossMission you will find opportunities to live your yes, walking with at risk ministries in East Africa.

What will your 'yes' look like?

Right & Almost Right

Right & Almost Right

Life beyond "Yes!" - For today's full-text click here

(We encourage everyone to read the full text. We hold each other accountable as we pray, read and engage the Bible. If you feel the text has not been handled well please comment and give thoughtful correction. This is what Scripture means when it encourages us to wrestle with the Bible and mentally struggle with it and inwardly digest it.)

This week we have encountered some violent and even gruesome texts. How do we react when warriors are called by Joshua (God's chosen leader of Israel) to place their feet on the neck of captured pagan kings and to slaughter them? How do we react when David kills and beheads Goliath? The lectionary surrounds these histories with victory Psalms. I fear many of us are tempted to feel vindication, justification, and even delight. I fear we are tempted to read these narratives as if a righteous God commanded these acts. I fear we forget that these men (these pagan kings and belligerent defiant warriors) though denying God and separated from God are God's children loved by God; I fear we forget how alike them we are behind our masks and in our hearts.

As we read Scripture it is important to hear clearly what God commands and to precisely analyze the response described in the narrative. What we will begin to see is that rarely is the response actually in perfect alignment with God's request. Usually, it is "sort of similar" yet varies in significant details. More is done; less is done; something similar is done but rarely is the response what God asked. Sin distorts how we view ourselves and then corrupts how we hear God and respond to God. From Eden, the echo "Surely God did not say..." ripples through human history and is recorded for us in Scripture. We provide all the excuses and alterations to God's command necessary to make God palatable and relevant.

As we read the Bible carefully we will see that human history spins out of control not because we trust God and act obediently but rather, because humans seem wholly incapable of doing as we are asked.

One modern example might be this. Jesus commissioned the Church to bear witness and to teach obedience to all He commanded. It is valid to clarify and interpret words and deeds recorded for us in Scripture. However most preaching and teaching goes beyond witness; it extrapolates, offers opinion and advances an agenda apart from Christ. Much of what we do under the banner of Christ promotes a bureaucracy, a business, an ideology and an agenda beyond the command and commission given us by Jesus Christ. As it was from the beginning so it is now - we question and modify God's words to suit ourselves. So, why does it surprise us that the "church" is in crisis? Why does it surprise us that those we are sent to bear witness to view us with suspicion and contempt? Sadly the answer is: because we are a "church" not Christ's Church.

As we practice reading and hearing God precisely, I believe we can learn to be Church precisely. Why? Because reading and hearing are acts of submission to the author/speaker. We seek what God is saying NOT what it means for me. Reading and hearing Scripture thus submits us to God. Following God leads to our restoration to Him. Interestingly, the violence and gruesome histories we encounter in and around this week's readings are given this submissive context in the lectionary. We find this context in Acts 5. In Acts 5 we are shown the obedient witnessing Church; we are shown what we are called to be. We are shown that God acts as we obey.

The question is will we be this Church, or, will we seek every 'if, and, and but' to excuse and modify God's command and commission?

For today's full-text click here

Thank you

Lent 2016: Thank you

For today's full-text click here
(I encourage everyone to read the full text. We hold each other accountable as we pray, read and engage the Bible. If you feel the text has not been handled well please comment and give thoughtful correction. This is what Scripture means when it encourages us to wrestle with the Bible and mentally struggle with it and inwardly digest it.)

Lent 2016: Reading the Lectionary with my family.

Reading every day can be a discipline; writing every day certainly was a discipline for both myself and my wife who reads and edits all my posts. However, the fact that nearly 17,500 reads occurred during Lent (20,000 since the blog began on Advent 1) has made this "discipline" a joy. That so many people commented, criticized, connected to, shared, tweeted, G+1, favoured and liked the short messages in this blog is what is important; it shows we came together to ponder Scripture and seek God. We experienced the love of Jesus through the wilderness, into Jerusalem, during the Passover meal, in Gethsemane, on the Cross, and beyond the grave. It was a journey and a blessing beyond words. It was a gift. It was a time of "theological" growth: our knowledge (logia (λογία)) of God (Τheos (Θεός)) was increased, deepened and broadened.

Thank you for sharing this with us.

http://www.acrossmission.org/

This blog will continue to post twice weekly (usually Thursday and Sunday).

So watch for our posts, beginning tomorrow. Please click the "G+  Follow" button in the right sidebar. You will receive notifications when we post. This is very helpful to us. Thank you.

We believe God desires every person He created to respond to His divine Love with a resounding joy-filled  "YES." We believe that just as surely as there is eternal life with God beyond the grave, there is work in God's mission for the Church beyond our "YES!" Join us as we explore this life beyond the yes together. We worship God with songs and anthems - we come to God in prayer - we "Go!" into the world in trust and obedience and faith working in God's mission as we live in God's Love.

Be blessed.

None can deny

None can deny

Lent 2016 (C) 2016-03-26: Reading the Lectionary with my family
(I encourage you to read the full text. Hold me accountable if you feel it has not been handled well. It is what Scripture means when it says to wrestle with the Bible and mentally struggle with it and inwardly digest it.)

The Victor's Crown

There is one fact that every worldly philosophy, ideology, sociology, apology, and false faith, science and doctrine seeks to minimise.

Yet it is this one fact that each worldly philosophy, ideology, sociology, apology, and false faith, science and doctrine fails to conclusively refute.

For there is one fact that no worldly philosophy, ideology, sociology, apology, and false faith, science and doctrine can ever cause us to deny.

"He ... Is ... RISEN!"

Alleluia. Christ is risen.

He is risen indeed. Alleluia! Alleluia! alleluia!

God of divine Love. You are faithful and persistent in seeking your people. In raising Jesus our Christ, fully man yet fully God, your Son from the grave you have broken the chains of sin that bound us, defeated the death that awaited us and freed all that seek You from hell. You fill your Church with joy, peace, faith and hope. You have rent the veil that separates us. The way stands open for our restoration to life eternal with You. For this we give you thanks, Father, Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ. Amen.

We profess to love the risen Jesus. To say we love Jesus is to say we will take up the Cross, we will lay down our lives and will radically and sacrificially love those whom Jesus loves. To say we love Jesus is to say we will go into the world and bear witness (in thought, word and deed) of the Love of Christ.

For today's full-text click here

Do you Believe?

What went wrong? What's going wrong? Same answer.

Lent 2016 (C) 2016-03-26: Reading the Lectionary with my family
(I encourage you to read the full text. Hold me accountable if you feel it has not been handled well. It is what Scripture means when it says to wrestle with the Bible and mentally struggle with it and inwardly digest it.)

Job 14: "A mortal, born of woman, few of days and full of trouble, comes up like a flower and withers, flees like a shadow and does not last. Do you fix your eyes on such a one?"

What went wrong? It most certainly was the question that echoed among Jesus followers the day after the crucifixion, the day the body of God lay cold dead in the tomb behind a heavy stone and a Roman seal is this. There seems to be a modern sentiment that we could have, even would have done better - "I would have stood and died with Christ." Yet Jesus knows better - we would not and we do not. My inbox is full of comments that suggest somehow we (the modern enlightened person) are able to take responsibility for our sin, and that we can make things right moving forward. This fanciful notion denies the truth of the Cross: apart from Jesus we are not even able to realize the complete extent of our sin let alone accept responsibility for it or do better moving forward.

Jesus said "there will be poor always" not because it is God's design that there be poor, but because He know us. God knows we will not take up the Cross for each other. God knows we will not do for Jesus by doing for the "least" of His people. God knows we will not lay down our life for the other. God knows we will not love each other as He loved us. Why? Because God knows the true, private, vainly hidden condition of our weak hearts.

If we modern Christians would do better why are our brothers and sisters suffering? Poverty still exists! The poor exist because there are the rich! It is not because of a lack of resources in the Church but because of the lack of resources released to ministry by Christians. The issue is the condition of the Christian heart.  ACrossMission's sub-Saharan Fund and @risk Funds are currently in need of 27 $100 monthly sponsors for missionaries in regions where Christ is ignored, despised, denied or hated. Missionaries to these places are poor and suffering. Why? Their lives are at risk (we can't even publish their testimony and pictures). why? How can this be IF we believe? How can this be if we, Christ's followers, would do better? This is just our small illustration - it sadly is not alone. Millions of missionaries and pastors beg for "Christ-followers'" help.

It hurts to write this. Especially the day after focusing on what Jesus endured for us out of divine Love. We needed and we still need the Cross. The evidence of poverty and suffering is stacked against us. Our accumulated wealth is stacked against us; our expenditures are stacked against us; our choices that bind us in financial debt are stacked against us. The Cross, the tomb and the seal are still necessary. We should have done better, and we should do better - yet we do not. Jesus asks us to show our love for Him as we love each other; as we love the least among us. To say we love Jesus is to say we will take up the Cross we encountered Good Friday, lay down our lives and radically and sacrificially love those whom Jesus loves.

The question of the passion of Christ is "Do you love me?" Is our response no or is it yes?

For today's full-text click here

His Cross

His Cross

Lent 2016 (C) 2016-03-25: Reading the Lectionary with my family
(I encourage you to read the full text. Hold me accountable if you feel it has not been handled well. It is what Scripture means when it says to wrestle with the Bible and mentally struggle with it and inwardly digest it.)

#GoodFriday. The day Love became unimaginable!

#DavidCrowder: Come as you are. (click here)

Today we approach the Cross. Jesus has suffered every human abuse and indignity and now He must die. We can approach this grasping our thick theological texts, which vainly attempt to harness, control, contain and explain a God nailed to a Cross. Or we can stand and wonder at this truth: He still loves us. 

As we approach the Cross in this reality we humbly confess three truths:

1. this really happened.
2. this was essentially necessary because of me and for me.
3. this was done out of Love incomprehensible.

I am loved. You are loved. How awesomely unimaginable is that? He still loves us.

Thank you God, the Father; thank you God, the Holy Spirit; thank you God, Jesus, the Son for loving each of us that much. You take this sinner that comes to You, You love, and in divine Love what You created us to be is who we become. That truth and transformation is the awesome wonder of the Cross. Thank you God for loving us that much. To say we love Jesus is to say we will take up the Cross we encounter today and will lay down our lives and love those whom Jesus loves.

The question of the passion of Christ is "Do you love me?" Is our response no or is it yes?

For today's full-text click here

Students of the Cross

Students of the Cross

Lent 2016 (C) 2016-03-24: Reading the Lectionary with my family
(I encourage you to read the full text. Hold me accountable if you feel it has not been handled well. It is what Scripture means when it says to wrestle with the Bible and mentally struggle with it and inwardly digest it.)

What does it look like to be a Christ follower? Tonight's readings are among the most poignant in all Scripture. We are shown God's faithfulness in the face of our unfaithfulness.  In the remembrance of the Pesach (Passover), we encounter the loving example Jesus sets for each of His followers. Jesus does not set an idyllic standard beyond our reach. He asks simply that we love as He loved us.

As we read the text it begs us to ask: how am I doing? Am I living His example? Am I loving as He loved? Am I a Christian? Here we encounter a sadness - in truth, we are not doing very well. To say we love Jesus is to say we love those whom Jesus loves.

The Christian heart is the servant's heart. The Christ follower is the uncomplaining and uncompromising servant of all. The Christian loves others (all of them!) and provides for the needs of others ahead of their own. The Christian would not be defined by their net worth or their nice things or the quality of their vacations; the Christian is defined by their generosity, by their ability to see all needs and respond radically and sacrificially to them. This is the repeated example of our Christ. If we are Christ's Body why do we not look like this Christ of ours? To say we love Jesus is to say we love those whom Jesus loves.

To love the other is the lesson of the Passover, the foot washing, the Eucharist and the Cross. Let us pray that we become better students of Christ's example. Let us pray we learn quickly to follow our Christ. Let us be students of the Cross. To say we love Jesus is to say we will take up the Cross, lay down our lives and love those whom Jesus loves.

The question of the passion of Christ is "Do you love me?" Is our response no or is it yes?

For today's full-text click here

Teacher

Teacher

Lent 2016 (C) 2016-03-23: Reading the Lectionary with my family
(I encourage you to read the full text. Hold me accountable if you feel it has not been handled well. It is what Scripture means when it says to wrestle with the Bible and mentally struggle with it and inwardly digest it.)

I love teachers. I love how they use every one of our senses and every aspect of
our nature to change our worldview. I love how creative they are; how invested they are in preparing us for life. Today's readings remind us that Jesus is the ultimate teacher and that He made the ultimate investment in us for our eternal life. Jesus' Love is so beyond comprehension. Even as sin rages in the world to inhibit His transforming work, Jesus walks above the storm to reach us and He draws us to Himself. Let us never forget that Jesus is fully God. Let us never forget that there was purpose in each moment and movement of Jesus' life; let us never forget that God knew and gave us prophecy of everything that we would do to Him.

The nature of our Triune God must shape how we receive the lessons of this Holy Week.  God is Love. This God of Love is the lens that gives proper meaning to the passion of Christ. Jesus tells us who is in control of all that happens - and that includes the week between the palms and the resurrection.

Jesus tells us why these things will happen. Jesus is the pioneer and perfecter of our faith - nothing that was done was unexpected or without purpose. Jesus' response to our sin was perfect and directed toward our redemption and restoration.

Jesus the ultimate teacher steeps every word, action, setting, and nuance with meaning to weave a rich teaching tapestry to guide us back to God. There is a beautiful art and precise science which Jesus utilizes in teaching - there is a wonder-filled pedagogy in Jesus. We are asked only to stop running away; to sit, experience the teaching and learn the Love God has for us.


Jesus lovingly guides and directs us through His passion with the view to confronting the reality of our sin, our need for Him in salvation and the reality of His Love.


The question of the passion of Christ is "Do you love me?" Is our response no or is it yes?

For today's full-text click here

Foolishness

Foolishness - it's not a puzzle!

Lent 2016 (C) 2016-03-22: Reading the Lectionary with my family
(I encourage you to read the full text. Hold me accountable if you feel it has not been handled well. It is what Scripture means when it says to wrestle with the Bible and mentally struggle with it and inwardly digest it.)

The Cross does not make sense - or more precisely, the Cross does not make sense to us. The link between murdering Jesus and setting me free of sin is not self-evident. Why? I wonder if it might be as simple as saying that we lack all the facts necessary to formulate a full analysis and conclusion of this act. We don't have all the pieces to the puzzle. We are not in a position as finite persons to make sense of infinite Love - this Love appears senseless and foolishness to us. Perhaps we might agree that it is ok to stop treating the Cross and God's Love as some kind of divine riddle or puzzle which our salvation depends on us solving. It is not and it does not. The Cross is an act of infinite divine Love - we are Loved! Accept it.

God Loves us - it's free!! As we exert our wisdom and impose our reason our sin is revealed - we demand explanation yet are incapable of receiving it. We hear things, see things, smell things, touch and taste things - but still we lack something. Jesus tells us we must become like children to enter the Kingdom of God - our senses, our intellect and our demands for explanation block our way. We must suspend our "adultness" and become like innocent children; we must suspend our sophistication and become naive if we are to receive the benefit of Christ's Cross. As we analyze the Cross we lose the Cross. God freely gave Himself - can we accept that gift or not? Can we go into the world living in the joy and peace and awe that comes from trusting in and obedience to God?

Christians debate the great doctrines of salvation (soteriology) while failing to hear Scripture: it is futile, it is foolishness - it is idolatry to subject God to human reason - it is ungrateful to subject the Cross to our judgment. My mom would say: never look a gift horse in the mouth, receive it with thanks. Not only do we look into this horse's mouth, we beat it to death with our analysis and flog it into lifelessness with our vain arguments.

The implications of the context, the imagery, the movements and the choreography of God's infinite wisdom are only dimly viewed within our finite context and human understanding. And that's ok. How can we who are trapped in the finite ever grasp the infinite? But this Jesus promises us, the Cross brings life and light as it is received with awe and wonder by grateful hearts. All human knowledge and understandings will fail to explain even the origin and essence of human love; how can we possibly expect an explanation of the unimaginable Love God has for us?

The question of the passion of Christ is "Do you love me?" Is our response no or is it yes?

For today's full-text click here

I need some help with my idols.

"What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? No ... Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience. For “the earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof.” If one of the unbelievers invites you to dinner and you are disposed to go, eat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience." What is Jesus saying through Paul's letter? He is saying idols are a nothing and food sacrificed to a nothing is food - we are not guilty of idolatry by association. We can only be guilty of idolatry through intention. So, to paraphrase Jesus: eat and stop being silly. Why do I even mention this?

Well ...

My first point is made above: we are only guilty of worshiping an idol if we are actually worshiping the idol. We can't worship something by association.

Next, if anybody has actual factual evidence (note: this is different from speculation or opinion or quoting some random unreviewed source on Google) that Easter is the highjacked worship festival of a pagan fertility goddess named Eostre would you please send it to me? Please!? Everything I have read (and I admit it has been a lot!!) indicates this notion is pure trash. I suppose our first clue might be all the parallel claims that Easter is the highjacked worship festival of all the other pagan fertility goddesses such as Ishtar. A second clue might be that if this is a global church conspiracy why is the "Easter" naming limited to only Germanic languages? It does not make sense. It makes the church look silly; it makes Christ look ridiculous. Yet it persists - and Christians buy into it?

I know I quote Churchill all the time, but it is true, the best way to nullify the truth is to shroud it in a cloud of lies (and the internet has proven a very useful tool for this). So please send me the research.

In the meantime here is an article by Anthony McRoy (an actual historian) that at least should cause one to question the claim: Easter was Borrowed from a Pagan Holiday? (Christian History) Professor McRoy accounts for an error (or at the very least an unsubstantiated claim) made in a single reference in a single passing comment by a medieval church teacher Venerable Bede. Bede links Easter and Eostre through the ancient name of a month. If we care to examine the etymological evolution of our word “Easter” Bede's error is self-evident.

We must remain open to correction - but we must also remain wary of false teaching. I appreciate your help. Thanks.

Until we have facts can we, at least, refrain from perpetuating pagan error?

High Priest? or not?

High Priest? or not?

Lent 2016 (C) 2016-03-21: Reading the Lectionary with my family
(I encourage you to read the full text. Hold me accountable if you feel it has not been handled well. It is what Scripture means when it says to wrestle with the Bible and mentally struggle with it and inwardly digest it.)

Why do you want to be a priest? "Because I feel called to be set apart: to bear the cost of sin upon myself for others; to love God's people so much that I would suffer their shame, their guilt, their agony, and their filth for them; to be their scapegoat holding their sin while accepting their scorn, judgement, derision, and mockery. I would be a priest to become last, so that they might be first."

We have the notion of priest (or in modern protestant lingo the "pastor") rather muddled in our modern christian minds. A professor and friend of mine (Rev. Ephraim Radner) wrote a brilliant commentary on Leviticus. In it he shows how God established in the Levitical Law the context of the Cross - the imagery, the movements, the choreography - that would help us recognize and understand the work Jesus would do on the Cross and through the grave. Ephraim pushes us to see how we have misinterpreted the Law and misunderstood the elements of our faith; he shows how the Law forms a chord through Scripture which unites prophecy to history to enable proper understanding of the Gospel - he shows how the Gospel permeates and thus fulfills every jot and tittle of Scripture just as Jesus tells us.

Consider the notion of priest which Hebrews and Isaiah point toward today. The priest is not the honoured pristine reservoir of perfect pure faith (as we often view him today) - the priest is the putrid casket bearing sin that must be destroyed for the people. The High Priest was never meant to be a station of prestige and authority. God uses His High Priest "to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon." The true High Priest is the suffering servant, the man who absorbs and carries sin before God to bear the penalty for the sake of all people.

We are so like the people of Jerusalem. Today let us be confronted and convicted by Jesus' words "You are [...] teachers and do you not understand these things?" The passion narrative is an intricately woven tapestry - so much is missed, misread and misunderstood if we fail to wrestle with the text. Our presumptions and preconceptions and pretext distort our readings.

We are reminded today of God's desire for the "priest" so we might glimpse and begin to understand the sheer depravity of our nature. This week we will watch as man's "high priest" devises and orchestrates the murder of God's true High Priest. But, as we watch we witness God's Love. God takes this murder by the Law and He transforms it into the perfect sacrifice according to the Law. God Loves us; He will bend everything, even our evil and sin toward our good. Our God is truly a God of restoration.

The question of the passion of Christ is "Do you love me?" Is it no or is it yes?

For today's full-text click here

Finding the Perspective

Finding the Perspective

Lent 2016 (C) 2016-03-20: Reading the Lectionary with my family
(I encourage you to read the full text. Hold me accountable if you feel it has not been handled well. It is what Scripture means when it says to wrestle with the Bible and mentally struggle with it and inwardly digest it.)

The Cross is the pivotal moment of human history; it is the critical movement of God's plan to restore us to what He created us to be. As we approach the suffering and victory of Christ it is important to see and contemplate what was done to Jesus with a humble heart. It is necessary to see the particular place each of us holds in Jesus' work upon the Cross. Too often we memorialize and ritualize this week and it becomes a series of mere liturgies steeped in history and tradition but void of transformative meaning. This week is set apart, it is Holy, not only because of what was done but because of what is being done and will be done in each of us. We may be tempted to imagine our own behaviour toward Jesus would have been righteous; we may imagine we would have loved and stood firmly with Jesus through every adversity. Sadly, the evidence that we continue to walk in a darkness sustained by our idols, surrounded by suffering yet focused on ourselves suggests we have not laid down our lives for the other, we have not taken up the cross and that we would not have stood firm with Christ.

Each Palm Sunday offers us the opportunity to turn to Jesus; to repent of our sin and to know Him. Can we accept that we do not want to be like the crowds singing praises when the path is straight, prosperous and easy and then shouting "crucify Him" the moment our cross appears? Can we concede that our lives tend more toward the self-interested crowds we read of today than the Christ bearing our Cross?

Can we pray as we move through this Holy week that we be set apart to do God's work - that we be made Holy - that we take up the Cross and follow Jesus? Can we pray that we be transformed at our very core to see the needs of every other person as a higher priority than our own needs? Can we seek the happiness of others as the priority of each and every action and word? Can we love the other above ourselves?  These are the questions Christ asks of His followers - this is the perspective of our Christ.


For today's full-text click here

#Lost

#Lost

Lent 2016 (C) 2016-03-19: Reading the Lectionary with my family
(I encourage you to read the full text. Hold me accountable if you feel it has not been handled well. It is what Scripture means when it says to wrestle with the Bible and mentally struggle with it and inwardly digest it.)

The readings again today are chalk full of imagery and actions which demonstrate that Jesus' betrayal, arrest, trial, and murder were known by God. His plan for our salvation anticipated perfectly our most heinous acts and He, in amazing Grace, used each insult, abuse, and horrid act to demonstrate His perfect Love for us. The words and actions of "Holy Week" echo across the ages from Eden to Egypt to Israel communicating God's desire to restore His people to right relationship with Him. However, we in the world inside our own heads can be so easily distracted by our own lusts, ideas and agendas.

 The reading today offers a sad example of this - it is a puzzling mention of a character that has been wildly abused by human reason and rationalization. Jesus gave a seemingly insignificant instruction: 'a man carrying a jar of water will meet you'.

Exegesis and interpretations have gone mad over this mention - a man, with a jar of water!! What could Jesus have meant by this? Here are three widely varying distortions of the text.

Interpretive fact: water bearing was normally considered a woman's function. Conclusion: this man was homosexual, gender dysphoric or transgendered. This "man" might even have been a woman dressed as a man!

Interpretive fact: A man bearing a jug of water is the sign of Aquarius. Astrologers, mystics, and spiritualists conclude: Jesus was obviously marking the beginning of the Pesach (the Passover) as the moment the Age of Aquarius would be ushered in.

Interpretive fact: Jesus prearranged for this man to be at the gate and for the water jug to be a signal. Conclusion: This was a prearrangement which proves Jesus was orchestrating His own crucifixion. Jesus had secretly arranged this meeting to maneuver himself and his people into place as part of a "Jesus movement" conspiracy against Roman occupation and Temple authority. Jesus was arranging His own Messianic martyrdom manipulating His movements and words in response to Hebrew prophecies - this was a human uprising not God's salvific plan.

As an aside, here we might notice something. There are often echoes of truth hidden within heresy, lies, and erroneous teaching. A good example of this in Scripture is the prophecy in John 11:50 spoken by Caiaphas as he convinces the Sanhedrin to murder an innocent man: "do you not realize that it is expedient for you that one man [Jesus] die for the people, to preserve the nation?" Just as the Sanhedrin plotted murder, truth was echoed in their debate. The distorted rhetoric sounded right because of the hint of truth. Winston Churchill observed that in times of war the truth is so precious that it must be protected by a bodyguard of lies, and so it is with God's truth. Evil often uses hints of truth to sanction, credential, and fortify heresy - it leads good people away from God's word and generally grounds Scripture in human wisdom and reason. The only protection we have is to stay focused on God and seek Him and His purpose in the Bible.

Interpretive fact: "I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying, ‘My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure.’" Conclusion: Jesus is fully God. He knew the man would be there because He is God and to Him, being fully faithful and One with and in God, sees the end from the beginning.

My wife and I work in communities in East-Africa where it is absolutely true: water bearing is considered a woman's or child's role. This fact does not exclude the possibility that in times of pregnancy, illness, increased risk, drought or simple necessity that men would draw water - it means nothing more than "we need more water." An ancient historian reports that Jerusalem's population might swell to over 2.1 million people during Pesach (The Passover) from its normal 25,000; he also reports that the people of Jerusalem were obliged to provide hospitality and relief to weary pilgrims during Pesach. The effect is this - a lot of extra work and preparation is necessary during the lead up to Passover. Perhaps a less fanciful implication of following this man with a water jug is this: the place where men would be drawing water is a place diligently preparing to welcome strangers.

God wants to be known by us and He wants to engage us. God has given us the Bible to communicate who He is to us. As we read the Bible it is wrong to promote "me," my philosophy or my ideologies. It is an abuse to use the Bible to advance notions adverse to the nature of God or in conflict with direct statements made by God. Heresy results from manipulating Scripture to one's own purpose.

As we approach Scripture let us always seek to stay focused, to know God better and to submit to His Way and His will. Let this be especially true as we move together through this holy week. Let us pray that we are transformed and restored to God. Amen

For today's full-text click here

Active not Absent

Active not Absent

Lent 2016 (C) 2016-03-18: Reading the Lectionary with my family
(I encourage you to read the full text. Hold me accountable if you feel it has not been handled well. It is what Scripture means when it says to wrestle with the Bible and mentally struggle with it and inwardly digest it.)

In the passages today, it seems all the big God themes communicated by God in Scripture are brought into play: love, sin, judgment, atonement, sanctification, justification, and mission are all present! The big idea for today is that God is not absent; God is active and present! God is Immanuel. It is a word we do not often hear this time of year - yet it remains amazingly appropriate. God is with us in the joys and sorrows, at the heights and in the pit, and in the meadow or the mud.

The joy we find as we wrestle with these passages and unpack all these themes is that we have a God who is present and involved instant by instant in our lives, who seeks our personal salvation and the return of His people.

A number of years ago Bishops of a large denomination seemed to notice "the Church is in trouble." First, the "Church" is not in trouble. What was in trouble was a human bureaucratic organization that called itself "Church" that had lost its way because it had lost its focus and because it had turned away from its foundational purpose. That said, a number of Bishops took up the torch and in fancy philosophical rhetoric defined the problem, articulated a plan and then requested regular reports from pastors and congregations on how things were progressing. While the Bishops remained distant overseers of a plan for church revival, congregations across the country met to formulate a response to these plans.  During one completely boring and lifeless meeting, my mind wandered back to a business meeting years before where a client in desperate attempts to ward off bankruptcy called in consultants. These consultants spoke in fancy lingo telling everyone that there was a problem (which was actually very obvious) and laid out theoretical plans for solving the problem. They were vague on precisely what must be done and how, but were clear on the benchmarks and targets we must meet to avert bankruptcy. In that meeting, my mind again wandered back to a high school basketball coach. In the dying minutes of a game, he was drawing up plans on his chalkboard. With  x's and o's and lines and arrows, he was blocking shots and making passes and it was wonderful; the problem was our team was short, maybe 5'11" average; the other team was huge with nobody under 6'. It seems our "Churches" are full of coaches, consultants, and overseers but sadly lacking Christ following Gospel workers.

So I really had a good laugh the first time I saw this:

(if the link will not work click here)

Here is the thrust of the message in our readings today. We don't hear of a god proposing unrealistic plays, giving vague advice, consulting in the abstract or demanding unattainable results - we experience The God who steps right into human history, right into our lives and does precisely what needs to be done. Our God actively executed the play at the Cross and He walks with us in working out our salvation. God does not propose an abstract - God works with us in life and He draws us into His work. If we trust Him and do His work He transforms us individually and through us, He transforms others. The Body of Christ must reflect our present and active God; each of us must walk the walk in the footsteps of our Saviour.

God calls us to walk with Him - even if the path is hard and dark. Are we prepared to walk the Way of our Christ? Is it yes or is it no?

For today's full-text click here

The Way becomes clearer

The Way becomes clearer

Lent 2016 (C) 2016-03-17: Reading the Lectionary with my family
(I encourage you to read the full text. Hold me accountable if you feel it has not been handled well. It is what Scripture means when it says to wrestle with the Bible and mentally struggle with it and inwardly digest it.)

The way of the Cross looms larger today; the reality of the Cross becomes more present; the shape and form of the path Jesus must walk is becoming clearer. We hear the voice of the One theologians call the suffering servant in Psalm 31. In Isaiah 53 we meet the One whose anguish will bring Light; the One whose righteousness will make many righteous.

Our readings come with a warning. Be careful to see clearly the One who was made low to elevate those who would believe; be careful to hear precisely the One who tasted death so that everyone who believes could live; be careful to seek and know the One who was broken so that all should be restored. We are warned to pay greater attention to Jesus so that we do not drift away.

There is a great truth in that one statement. We are not paying attention. We are not concentrating on what is spoken in Scripture. The result is we are ignorant of the Truth and so we are drifting away from Jesus.

It is remarkable how quickly this truth becomes obvious - within mere weeks of persistently reading the Bible and really thinking about what is said, the nature of God and Jesus' work become magnified and clarified. If we approach Scripture seeking Jesus He is everywhere - if we really seek to know God, His nature is quickly demystified - if we ask what must we do to be received into the Kingdom, God's Love comes into focus and the ever elusive "meaning of life" is illuminated through the crucified and glorified suffering servant - the One we know is Jesus our Christ.

Being a Christ follower looks like something. Are we prepared to walk the Way of our Christ? Is it yes or is it no?

For today's full-text click here

yet on the third day

yet on the third day...

Lent 2016 (C) 2016-03-16: Reading the Lectionary with my family
(I encourage you to read the full text. Hold me accountable if you feel it has not been handled well. It is what Scripture means when it says to wrestle with the Bible and mentally struggle with it and inwardly digest it.)

Today we read two accounts of God reclaiming His people. One spoken through the imagery of God's awesome authority and command of creation. The other is Jesus speaking. In reading Habakkuk perhaps we can understand the "blindness" of the apostles - it is so easy to hear their error, bias, and presumption of a wrathful vengeful warrior God in the prophet's prayer. Habakkuk gives voice to what Israel wants. Standing against this, are the words of Jesus who gives voice to what we need.

The Messiah will suffer human wrath and will be hated and will be abandoned. The Messiah will bear the worst of human invective and physical abuse, yet from this on the third day, God will claim His mighty victory by His right hand. God will come forth to save His people, to save His anointed. Jesus tells us that this bloodied and beaten and cursed Messiah alone is the foundation, the very cornerstone of God's victory and the hope of our salvation.

Through Christ alone we become God's people. God gives us the freedom to accept Jesus as the unique Way of salvation. Is it yes or is it no?

For today's full-text click here

The Gods of Politics?

Lent 2016 (C) 2016-03-15: Reading the Lectionary with my family
(I encourage you to read the full text. Hold me accountable if you feel it has not been handled well. It is what Scripture means when it says to wrestle with the Bible and mentally struggle with it and inwardly digest it.)

"So all the trees said to the bramble,‘You come and reign over us.’

And the bramble said to the trees,

‘If in good faith you are anointing me king over you,

then come and take refuge in my shade" (Judges 9)

"As you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come... They went out from us, but they did not belong to us" (1 John 2)

I have posted this late. Why? Well, it is essential to read Scripture carefully and precisely. It is necessary to hear Scripture clearly. Today's reading speaks of leadership under the absolute sovereignty of God. Today's reading speaks of leaders who would govern God's children completely humbled to God's absolute truth.

Today's headlines are full of leaders and would-be leaders "courting" favour in vain attempts to elevate themselves. Where is God in our government? From state visits to summits to caucuses to primaries the game is clear. It is a pathetic grasping for an influence, power and authority wielded apart from God; it is the promotion of the humanistic self above our Loving God. If God is given any place in our 21C political process He is but a stepping stone; a pledge falsely proclaimed and a tool useful for shaping an electable image and forming a winning message. The sad truth is those who do not know Jesus are being elevated and those opposing Christ are gaining our favour. The "church" must repent of this circumstance - we have not taken Jesus into the world so the world does not know Him - in truth we must ask if we are even the Church? People claiming the banner of Christ, who have substantial influence have used their God-given voice (even the pulpit!) in support of anti-Christian platforms. How is this possible? There are not "Gods of Politics" - there is one God above all.

We must repent. "Christian" compromise and expediency are rampant.  There is more to confessing Jesus Christ than merely speaking a few words - Christ is confessed in the heart. Hear Jesus' words in Matthew 25, see the image of a bramble elevated and receive the warning of 1 John 2. It is true all have fallen short of the Glory of God but this truth does excuse our overtly running away from God. Let us return to God in whom we proclaim our trust; for He alone is worthy of trust.

The Church is called again to repentance. Repentance is the first small step on the road to restoration and reformation and revival and our return to God. Will we be God's people? God gives us this choice. Is it yes or is it no?

"They will be my people, and I will be their God." (Jeremiah 32)

For today's full-text click here

"Some take pride in chariots, and some in horses,

but our pride is in the name of the Lord our God." (Psalm 20)

What's going on?

What's going on?

Lent 2016 (C) 2016-03-14: Reading the Lectionary with my family
(I encourage you to read the full text. Hold me accountable if you feel it has not been handled well. It is what Scripture means when it says to wrestle with the Bible and mentally struggle with it and inwardly digest it.)

Today Scripture draws us into considering just how far from God we have strayed. God has provided perfectly for us, so today we ask how have we ended up in such a mess?

God loves - God is the ultimate Love. God created us from His love and for His love. Even when we responded to God's love with reproach God did not abandon us, He provided a path for us to return to Him. God wants us back - He loves us.

Sadly, one effect of our sin is that we are unable to accurately assess value. The Bible often refers to our blindness, our deafness and the ignorance we call wisdom. Consistently across the ages, we have allowed people and things to usurp God's preeminent place in our hearts. We confess with our lips that God is ultimate, paramount and supreme yet the truth is our hearts are far from Him. Our profession of faith is inconsistent with the facts evident in our lives and through our behaviors. The evidence of this fact is the condition of humanity. The symptoms of our alienation from God surround us every day - they convict us of our sin and depravity. How can poverty, disease, greed and hate exist within a people who worship God in spirit and truth? It is not possible. God has supplied overflowing abundant provision for us - yet we horde for ourselves rather than love as Christ loved. We love ourselves infinitely more than we love others. The conclusion is thus inevitable: our hearts are indeed far from God.

White tombs surrounding the Temple mount.

Today the Bible provides an example. We read of the provision God made for His people to be near Him; a place for us in His presence - the tabernacle. And what did we do with this gift? Jesus will declare the place corrupt (a den of thieves) and the people putrid (whitewashed tombs). The temple, temple ritual and temple authority have usurped God and His authority in the hearts of His people. The place is corrupt and the people do not know God. Our history continues to be littered with our corruption of God's gifts and the atrocities of our God-less hearts.

God provides the Bible to shape and direct us. By knowing Christ we are transformed into the likeness of Christ - in this likeness we are commissioned to bear witness of Christ around the world. So how are we doing? Are we worshipping God by living as obedient Christ followers or are we just preserving our temple churches? Are we accepting every opportunity within our grasp to sacrificially bear witness of Jesus Christ in all the world? Or not?

In the Hebrews passage today we are encouraged to confess our hope, know God's faithfulness and to live God's Love in the world. In short we are encouraged to authentically live as Christ followers in the Love of God.

Will we truly live as God's people? Is it yes or is it no?

For today's full-text click here

The Harvest is Ripe

The Harvest is Ripe!

Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

It is a beautiful thing to be able to say! Children make-up the majority of our sub-Saharan congregations.

Today let us pray for the leaders raised up to love these children and lead them in the ways of Christ; today let us pray that Christ followers around the world will value this opportunity to live out Christ's great commissioning of the Church by supporting Christian leaders working in poverty to take the Gospel to the nations.

Please take this opportunity to live out the Church's Commission through ACrossMission http://www.acrossmission.org/#!our-missions/c230o . You can support our @risk Children's Ministry here and our @risk Women's ministries here. Will you walk in this work today?

"Truly I tell you,

just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family,

you did it to me."

Please share this with your congregations. Be blessed.

All in...

All in ...

Lent 2016 (C) 2016-03-13: Reading the Lectionary with my family
(I encourage you to read the full text. Hold me accountable if you feel it has not been handled well. It is what Scripture means when it says to wrestle with the Bible and mentally struggle with it and inwardly digest it.)

John 12:3 Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus' feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

I have been privileged to engage this text under the guidance of a Rabbi, a Messianic Jew, a former Jew (now a priest) and an Israeli historian. There was a consistency to their teaching. To understand this story correctly you must understand clearly what the "nard" is. Yes, it was a fragrant cream or oil - yes, it was highly prized - yes, it was extremely valuable - and that is the key. Before banks, stock markets, commodities markets, and investment funds a family's wealth was invested in compact (that is easy to hide) durable desirable commodities such as this nard. This nard then is more than just a precious ointment - it represents the past prosperity, present wealth, and future security of this family. Every reader of this Gospel would be aghast at what was going on here: a family fortune was being squandered in this one seemingly brash moment.

Not long ago a young athlete was drafted to play in a professional sports league. To play pro-sports is the dream of many young people and their families. The contract offered was worth millions! The young athlete chose to walk away from the sport and instead to become a priest. I suspect the reaction of the Jews to Mary's anointing of Jesus parallels closely what the reaction among the athlete's family and friends and the sports media was: Has he gone mad! Think of the good he could do with the money he would make as a professional athlete! Think of the role model he could be. Similarly, a student accepted into a highly prized medical school, from a wealthy family and engaged to be married into a wealthy family chose instead to accept a place in a convent and then serve the poor in a "third world slum." Think of the good she could do as a doctor! Think of the charities she could support from her income!

The way Jesus breathes this moment into Scripture is awesome; He allows us to be astonished at the perceived waste and then gives voice to our shock. Our spokesperson is Judas! In a very real way, Jesus is asking: who are you in this narrative, Mary or Judas? We may not like our answer.

To be aligned with Judas is harsh and convicting! Yet Jesus gives us this moment for our own growth and for our call to repentance and redemption. Jesus also gives us encouragement in the words we find today in Philippians 3: whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. Do we really believe Jesus is our everything - the ultimate possession - the most precious gift? - or - are these just words and ideas we parrot in our vain attempts to appear Christian? In this narrative are we Judas or Mary? In our heart are we Judas or Paul? God is calling out to transform our hearts to truly know His worth! God is calling us to the Cross.

Will we truly follow Jesus wherever He goes, even to the Cross? Is it yes or is it no?

For today's full text click here

I'm Christian! Right?

I'm Christian! Right?

Lent 2016 (C) 2016-03-12: Reading the Lectionary with my family
(I encourage you to read the full text. Hold me accountable if you feel it has not been handled well. It is what Scripture means when it says to wrestle with the Bible and mentally struggle with it and inwardly digest it.)

"If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, 

and the Romans will come and destroy both 

our temple and our nation.”

Many people witnessed the raising of Lazarus. They saw the man bound, the burial and mourning, and the stone across the tomb; they smelled the stench of death; they stood near the grave; they heard Jesus' prayer and they heard Him call Lazarus from the grave. They saw the dead man raised! Some then went to the Pharisees and gave their witness and testimony. The response was a concern not for what our infinite immortal God was working among His people, but rather for the finite mortal temple and the nation. This seems inconceivable. It is ironic.

To fully explore today's readings from Exodus and John in their context and then contemplate how they interact would take much more time and space than I have in this blog. These are amazing passages! Perhaps we can find a helpful starting point for unpacking these readings by observing that the very wonders that led to the institution of the Temple and the nation of Israel were less present and tangible than Lazarus, a dead man, walking among the crowds of Passover in Jerusalem. The wonders that lead to the Passover commemoration were but distant memories kept alive in Israel through the temple. The dead and decaying Lazarus lived and walked among them there and then! Our first instinct might be to judge the evil, ignorance and arrogance of the temple leaders as if to say "I would have never done this." However, Lent holds the Pharisees up as a mirror before us and asks "Really, wouldn't you?"

A new friend posted a message recently: "Many go to church. Few go to Christ." This precisely directs us toward the starting point we are being encouraged to adopt today. The context of the Pharisees was self-worship shrouded and disguised in temple worship. In other words, the temple became a prop for the creation of self-image; for a political, financial, commercial and social propping up of self! Jesus undermined the prop and thus endangered the carefully constructed image. Jesus endangered the self, thus, the conclusion that Jesus must be eliminated - what it was coming down to is something must go: Him or me.

How different are we? Do we really follow Jesus or is Jesus a prop for our own gain and our own self-image?

As we journey through Lent we are seeing that following Jesus looks like something. If we are followers of Jesus, who He is will be seen in our choices, our words, our actions and how we bless and engage with others. The world will know we are Christ followers! We will not have to say "I am Christian," - the world will observe us and will say "You are Christian" IF we are His true followers.

The temple was feared and even despised because of the disconnect between God's Word and the works of the temple. The disconnect reveals the conviction of self-righteousness against righteousness in Christ. In Jerusalem, the temple was preserved at the expense of its God; in Jerusalem, the ego ("I") was preserved at the expense of the desire of "I AM." The more things change the more they stay the same - today we preserve the church at the expense of Jesus; my condition is preserved at the expense of God's mission and our commission. This is the context we have been praying that our Lenten journey will reveal, shake, break and set us free from. God calls us to authenticity in His mission. God beckons us to the place He has prepared for us in His Church. God's Word shouts: "Go to Christ!" As we enter authentic Christ-following we begin to see the foundations of atonement and the shattering of our sin in the text God has given us this day.

There is so much more to say. This is but a start. Today, hear the shouts of God. Will we step out of "my church" and be embraced in Christ, His Body, His Church? Is it yes or is it no?

For today's full text click here

Why the Silence?

We live in our post Christian modern west, where much of what God says to His people is unpopular. We like to be liked. We want to be respected. In our peaceable society conflict is something to be avoided at all costs. We like our comfort - so pain and suffering are things to be managed, controlled and if possible eliminated. We live with an expectation of ease. Seeking this ease it seems we have adopted the nature of the society which surrounds us (or at the very least to stand quietly in it). The good citizen christian has become a reflection of society not Christ. It's easier that way! It's kinder. It's nicer. It's gentler.

The good citizen christian has come to accept the mantras of ease - everyone is entitled to their own opinions! Live and let live! Go along to get along! Never speak of money, sex, politics or religion! All Gods are equal. Separation of church and state means Christian values are not applicable to public discourse and decisions. Jesus has no place outside the home and church building. This all somehow seems OK; reasonable even. But then we realize that bit-by-bit living by these social mantras puts us in opposition to Jesus. Adopting these stances strips away the essence of what it is to be a Christ follower - a Christian. As the Christian wakes up and seeks to live their "yes" to Christ they are branded radicals, haters, judgmental, narrow minded and bigoted. As the Christian lives in Christ we are persecuted through ridicule, prejudice and marginalization.

Perhaps this is why God has given us a wonderful gift in the voice of the Martyrs? What do we hear echoing from the cloud of witness that has gone before us? We hear the costly witness of Jesus Christ!

One such story is that of Perpetua - a young mother who keeps her diary as she approaches her witness in the Roman Ring with a Joy found only in Christ. (read her story here) It is one of the oldest known writings of a Christian woman.

the Martyrdom of Perpetua

There are very popular, accepted secular ideas that Christ followers are called to engage. As they are engaged we are confronted with harsh questions and rebuttals. Christ's answers are so often challenging and contrary to political correctness, to our own human natural reason and to social enlightenment. Saying what Christ said too often brings slander, exclusion, abuse, ridicule, discrimination and even hate upon us; too often we suffer the breakdown of valued relationships. More than once people have laughed in our face; more than once they've yelled; more than once we have been spat at. "Who are you?" "What century do you live in?" "You are a narrow minded, self righteous bigot." "People like you are the worst part of Canadian society." Yet all this pales amidst the echoes of Martyrs gone before us.

Martyr. Greek: μάρτυς [mártys]. It is a word whose English meaning has been broadened in recent years, but the origin of the word referred to those Christians who suffered and were persecuted for their Christian witness. The Greek is literally "witness." So, it is interesting that the word μάρτυς, martyr,"witness" came to be so closely associated with the persecution and torture and murder of the Christian witness. It seems that witness for Christ and persecution have always walked hand-in-hand. Our faith is, and has always been costly.

This week the Anglican Communion disciplined through sanctions the Episcopal Church of the USA. The media and enlightened academic push-back was sadly predictable. The "Third World" Archbishops are archaic, backward, judgmental, simple, narrow minded and bigoted in their thinking which lacks the sophistication of the west; they should be thankful for the God given vocation of the Episcopal Church to yet again lead them from their darkness.

We speak of Martyrs today to remind us of the costliness of the witness which has gone before us; and of the costliness of the witness which lies ahead. We are called by Christ to add our voice to the echo of the cloud of witness which carries from us here and now forward to the end of the age. Say what Christ said, tell what Christ did and teach them to obey all that He commanded.

Jesus did warn us: "If the world hates you, be aware that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own. However, because you do not belong to the world, but I chose you out of the world, for this reason the world hates you." John 15

Being Christian is costly - it is the price we accept in giving our yes to Jesus and accepting baptism into His Church.

Can we just stand quiet? Can we leave this witness to others? Can we just mind our own business?

Obviously not!

"But If we die with [Jesus], we will also live with Him. If we endure, we will also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He will also deny us." 2 Timothy 2.