Stripped Naked

For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable. (Hebrews 4:12-13)

I think some don't like to explore the Word of God for themselves, rarely opening their Bible, merely going through life on the 'second-hand exposure' to God's Word because they are a little intimidated by it. Why do you suppose that is? If we were honest here, some might admit to not really knowing where to start - thinking there must be a 'plan' on how to read it, but not sure of the plan. Others will admit they have 'started' reading it, more like little spurts here and there, but it was not very 'clear' to them, so they just stopped. Trust me on this - Satan is most pleased whenever we find any excuse to not get into God's Word than when we dedicate ourselves to consistent time in it! 

Why? He knows the power of those Words - the power to expose what has been hidden. If we come into some knowledge we didn't possess before, we might just begin to rely upon God's truth more than his lies. That bugs the heck out of him! He will do everything at his disposal to keep us out of God's Word because he doesn't want us to be part of the opposition. He is most content when we put up very little resistance to his temptations and his 'illusions' of truth. As soon as the Word of God gets into us, we become a force to be reckoned with - a threat to his rule on this earth. 

God's Word is alive and powerful - it has creative power. It also has 'destructive' power - dividing right from wrong, exposing what has been hidden, and dealing with what needs to go. Our commitment to get into God's Word isn't to be taken half-heartedly. It is the very thing we need to get at our innermost thoughts - those things that we have come to believe that need to be exposed to truth because they aren't true at all. There are lies we have told ourselves and others that have been told to us. We embraced them as truth, never putting them to the test to find out what God says about the matter. 

In time, those innermost thoughts became desires and desires acted upon might just have become sins we have had to deal with time and time again in our lives. No wonder God tells us to get into his Word. He wants us to be free - no longer bound by what should never have entrapped us in the first place. Let his Word get into you even just a bit - consistently taking in portions of it until you begin to feel like things once hidden are being stripped naked. When this happens, don't be surprised when God's power takes over. His Word is at work and your heart will never be the same again. Just sayin!

The Confession of Communion

You don’t want penance; if you did, how gladly I would do it! You aren’t interested in offerings burned before you on the altar. It is a broken spirit you want—remorse and penitence. A broken and a contrite heart, O God, you will not ignore. And Lord, don’t punish Israel for my sins—help your people and protect Jerusalem. And when my heart is right, then you will rejoice in the good that I do and in the bullocks I bring to sacrifice upon your altar. (Psalm 51:16-19)

Old Testament worship involved the bringing of 'sacrifices' to the Temple of God - bullocks, doves, sheaves of wheat. They were part of a 'liturgical system' of worship declared under the Law of Moses. The Law given to him by God as he communed with God on Mt. Sanai. That Law was merely a 'tutor' of sorts - something meant to point us to Christ - to the one 'perfect sacrifice' for all of mankind's sins. Within these verses we find a humbled and penitent servant - having confessed the 'stain' within his heart that his transgressions had left behind. The immediate 'go to' in those days may have been to turn to some form of physical sacrifice on the altar of God - to make 'atonement' for the sin. Yet, we find King David coming before God without a bullock or a ram - he merely brings his heart. Perhaps David recognized something - that God desires a humble and penitent heart MORE than he desires the 'offerings' of any other sort. 

This is something we all could learn as we approach the throne of grace - no 'sacrifice' is greater than to recognize our sin, bring it to the foot of the cross, and then to ask God to heal the sinner's heart. A broken spirit - a contrite and humble heart - this is the 'sacrifice' God desires of us. Our hearts having been deeply 'affected' by our guilt, we come, submitting the guilt and shame of our sin to the work of the cross in our lives. I don't know about you, but to admit my shame and guilt is not always easy. I sometimes believe it is just easier to sweep it under the rug, but every time I have even considered that means of dealing with my sin, the rug is moved! I have come to believe there is no 'shame' in admitting my failures - there is only grace and goodness awaiting the acknowledgement of my sin. 

As we look again at what David tells us here, we might notice he says we 'FIRST' come with a humble and contrite heart, then we can bring our sacrifices. He didn't turn away from the teachings he had been given all his life - he merely recognized a much deeper meaning in those sacrifices. Maybe he knew the bullock or ram would be fine, but until he made things right through confession of his sin and the seeking of God's forgiveness, all the rest wouldn't really matter. God might prompt us to lay down all the 'good deeds' and 'physical sacrifices' for a bit when what he is really after is for us to recognize our need for his mercy and grace. Sin isn't dealt with by 'doing good deeds' and 'keeping the Law'. It is recognized, acknowledged, brought to the foot of the cross, and then covered by a blood sacrifice greater than any other - the blood of Jesus. 

It is when our hearts are right that we are restored to communion with God. Communion - the sharing of our intimate thoughts, our feelings, and opening of our minds, hearts, and souls to his touch. It is in communion with him that we are able to effectively and purposefully 'do good works', for it is in the confession of communion that we are made whole. Just sayin!

Celebration or Criticism?

I want to explore a miracle from the Bible today, but from a little bit of a different perspective - that of the crowd. We could look at the miracle of Jesus raising Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha, seeing the wonder of a man dead and buried for four days coming forth from the tomb completely bound in graveclothes, face muffled in a swath cloth. Unwrapped, free, alive and fully restored - now that is a miracle of astronomical proportions, is it not? I imagine Lazarus 'stood out' a little bit, as he had been to heaven and was now alive to talk about it. Yet, there were some in the crowd that day that stand out just a little bit themselves. The Jewish leaders - men of learning and intense study of the Law of Moses. Their response to this miracle? Some believed and some ran to the Pharisee religious leaders to 'tattle on Jesus'.

And so, at last many of the Jewish leaders who were with Mary and saw it happen, finally believed on him. But some went away to the Pharisees and reported it to them. Then the chief priests and Pharisees convened a council to discuss the situation. “What are we going to do?” they asked each other. “For this man certainly does miracles. If we let him alone the whole nation will follow him—and then the Roman army will come and kill us and take over the Jewish government.” And one of them, Caiaphas, who was High Priest that year, said, “You stupid idiots—let this one man die for the people—why should the whole nation perish?” This prophecy that Jesus should die for the entire nation came from Caiaphas in his position as High Priest—he didn’t think of it by himself but was inspired to say it. It was a prediction that Jesus’ death would not be for Israel only, but for all the children of God scattered around the world. So, from that time on the Jewish leaders began plotting Jesus’ death. (John 11:45-53)

There are always going to be some in the crowd that just cannot see the good in what God does when a life is restored. Standing before them is the greatest witness of the grace and goodness of God, and they just cannot accept it. Instead, they criticize, make fun of, and put down the life change. A man brought back from the grave - standing there with them in full view - and they don't glory in the revelation of God's redeeming grace - they criticize it. The world doesn't like to see transformed people - it frightens them! They cannot understand the grace of God - the transforming power of the one true God. So, God uses those he has transformed to tell his story - because all those who look on will do is criticize and attempt to squelch that message of transformation.

In bringing Lazarus back to life, Jesus showed his power. If you look at the account, you will note that Martha kind of thinks Lazarus is 'beyond restoration' because she reminds Jesus in no subtle manner that Lazarus has been in the grave four days and he 'stinketh'. In other words, the decay of death has already been at work in his body. Tombs in Israel were not air-conditioned morgues - they were sweltering pits, sealed up, and allowed to do their work. Bugs would have invaded the space, heat would have begun to speed the decomposition of his body, and he indeed would 'stinketh'. Jesus knows exactly the condition of Lazarus' body, but it doesn't matter - he knows there is more power in one word from his mouth than all the forces at work in that decaying body!

The world cannot help but point out how much a person has done wrong and just how 'impossible' their 'return' from that fallen state would be. They completely forget that though a man's life 'stinketh' because of the 'decay of sin', God's redeeming words, "Come forth", speak health, hope, and healing into the most disgusting of lives. Criticize if you want, but I am one of those disgusting lives, made whole, redeemed by grace, and fully restored. How about you? Do you hear the words to 'Come forth' from your place of captivity - the place where sin has done nothing good and left you to rot in place? Don't fear the criticism of those who won't celebrate the miracle, but come forth, be whole, stand as God's pride and joy before them. Let God celebrate that miracle! Just sayin!