My new ebook...go get it! There are some of my blogs in the book, but a lot that are not, so it would be some new material.
3/24/11
3/2/11
What Does it Mean to Follow Jesus?
"When Jesus calls a man, He bids him to come and die." - Dietrich Bonhoeffer
The above quote is one of my favorites...it always makes me think, and more often than not, uncomfortably.
The Roman Empire adopted a form of torture/execution from the Phonecians, but they perfected it - it was called Crucifixion. It typically took between 3 or 4 days for the prisoner to die from suffocation. Nails were usually reserved only for the most heinous criminals, which did not necessarily mean rapists, murderers or the like. Often, in the eyes of Rome, the most heinous was the rebel, the revolutionary, anyone who set themselves against Pax Romana was an enemy of the state and was treated as such.
There were 3 types of crosses used:
Crux Maximus - typically the top of the cross was about 4 meters in the air. This was used on the worst of criminals so that all might see what a rebel will get from Rome.
Low Tau - this was much lower in height and the criminal was cramped up on this one. Usually the lowest class of criminal was on this one, in addition to the mentally handicapped.
An actual tree - if a tree was close by for an immediate execution and was shaped correctly, this was used.
The entire cross was not carried because the full weight would have been around 300 lbs. It was the cross piece that was carried (patibulum) and weighed about 75-90 lbs. In addition to having to carry the instrument of their impending death, if they were particularly strong and seemed to be lasting too long, the soldiers would perform the crucifragium. They would take a 2x4 piece of wood and lay it across the shins of the criminal and then take a mallet and smash the bones causing the criminal to drop painfully and suffocate even faster with their arms stuck over their heads. The criminals were also usually crucified naked.
Please notice how I used the term "criminal" over and over again. Please notice how I described that crucifixion was not only painful, but humiliating. Please notice how I showed the contempt held for those who were crucified. These things I mentioned...I mentioned for a reason.
With all this having been said, now consider the quote from Bonhoeffer. Jesus was not calling His disciples and us to a life as described by so many TV preachers. Think of it this way: "If anyone is to follow me, let them deny themselves and sit in an electric chair" or maybe, "If you want to be my follower, don't put yourself first and climb the steps of the gallows".
Now don't be discouraged...despite all this talk of death and sadness, there is joy found in Jesus. Life is hard whether you follow Him or not, but knowing that He is there with you through it all...knowing that this is not all there is...giving your love away freely to those who may not love you back; this is the Way of Christ, because He had a hard life...He knew His Father was with Him through it all...He knew that this life is not all there is...He loved freely with no promise of being loved in return.
Dying to self brings true life. And when there is no more self, there is finally room for Jesus.
The above quote is one of my favorites...it always makes me think, and more often than not, uncomfortably.
The Roman Empire adopted a form of torture/execution from the Phonecians, but they perfected it - it was called Crucifixion. It typically took between 3 or 4 days for the prisoner to die from suffocation. Nails were usually reserved only for the most heinous criminals, which did not necessarily mean rapists, murderers or the like. Often, in the eyes of Rome, the most heinous was the rebel, the revolutionary, anyone who set themselves against Pax Romana was an enemy of the state and was treated as such.
There were 3 types of crosses used:
Crux Maximus - typically the top of the cross was about 4 meters in the air. This was used on the worst of criminals so that all might see what a rebel will get from Rome.
Low Tau - this was much lower in height and the criminal was cramped up on this one. Usually the lowest class of criminal was on this one, in addition to the mentally handicapped.
An actual tree - if a tree was close by for an immediate execution and was shaped correctly, this was used.
The entire cross was not carried because the full weight would have been around 300 lbs. It was the cross piece that was carried (patibulum) and weighed about 75-90 lbs. In addition to having to carry the instrument of their impending death, if they were particularly strong and seemed to be lasting too long, the soldiers would perform the crucifragium. They would take a 2x4 piece of wood and lay it across the shins of the criminal and then take a mallet and smash the bones causing the criminal to drop painfully and suffocate even faster with their arms stuck over their heads. The criminals were also usually crucified naked.
Please notice how I used the term "criminal" over and over again. Please notice how I described that crucifixion was not only painful, but humiliating. Please notice how I showed the contempt held for those who were crucified. These things I mentioned...I mentioned for a reason.
With all this having been said, now consider the quote from Bonhoeffer. Jesus was not calling His disciples and us to a life as described by so many TV preachers. Think of it this way: "If anyone is to follow me, let them deny themselves and sit in an electric chair" or maybe, "If you want to be my follower, don't put yourself first and climb the steps of the gallows".
Now don't be discouraged...despite all this talk of death and sadness, there is joy found in Jesus. Life is hard whether you follow Him or not, but knowing that He is there with you through it all...knowing that this is not all there is...giving your love away freely to those who may not love you back; this is the Way of Christ, because He had a hard life...He knew His Father was with Him through it all...He knew that this life is not all there is...He loved freely with no promise of being loved in return.
Dying to self brings true life. And when there is no more self, there is finally room for Jesus.
All Points of the Compass
Psalm 103:12 - As far as the East is from the West, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.
So, you're on a journey, walking. You have a compass to guide you. As you go North, you find that the needle stays true to the pole. No matter how far North you go, the needle still points North...until you pass the the magnetic North Pole and start heading south. It seems as though you are still going the same direction, but the needle shows that North is behind you now.
Mystically, you are now at the equator. You decide that you want to go East, so you set off. You keep going East...and going East...and going East...and going East. You never get there. Even when you start from North Carolina on the East Coast of the USA and end up in California on the West Coast of the USA via Europe and Asia, you are still going East. East never meets West.
When we surrender our foolish behaviors, our actions, our sins to God, He throws them away. As far as He is concerned they no longer exist. In fact, in His eyes, it is as if they never were. Only we can find them and drag them up out of the sediment of our hearts, and when we do this, we are stealing from God. We gave them to Him...they belong to Him to do with them what He will.
Love...Grace...Mercy...Forgiveness...Restoration.
So, you're on a journey, walking. You have a compass to guide you. As you go North, you find that the needle stays true to the pole. No matter how far North you go, the needle still points North...until you pass the the magnetic North Pole and start heading south. It seems as though you are still going the same direction, but the needle shows that North is behind you now.
Mystically, you are now at the equator. You decide that you want to go East, so you set off. You keep going East...and going East...and going East...and going East. You never get there. Even when you start from North Carolina on the East Coast of the USA and end up in California on the West Coast of the USA via Europe and Asia, you are still going East. East never meets West.
When we surrender our foolish behaviors, our actions, our sins to God, He throws them away. As far as He is concerned they no longer exist. In fact, in His eyes, it is as if they never were. Only we can find them and drag them up out of the sediment of our hearts, and when we do this, we are stealing from God. We gave them to Him...they belong to Him to do with them what He will.
Love...Grace...Mercy...Forgiveness...Restoration.
12/6/10
Let Those Who Have Ears
A prophetic cry has gone out to those within the Kingdom of God since the beginning:
“Listen up! Why won’t you listen? God gave you ears, yet you refuse to listen! Hearing and listening are not the same thing, just as seeing and understanding are not the same thing. I have a message for you and in turn, you must go to the world.”
There are those who claim to be prophets, and then there are those who are prophets and may not realize it. Unfortunately the word “prophet” has been given a meaning that is only partially true. Most of the time it is used to describe someone who can foretell the future...but if we look at the Biblical prophets, most of them didn’t “forthsee” that often. Most of their messages were to the people of God, to as my Dad used to say, “straighten up and fly right”! Limiting the spiritual gift of prophecy to merely foretelling the future is like limiting the spiritual gift of healing to only healing people who are blind.
The word translated as “prophet”, in the Hebrew & Greek languages, merely means “mouth piece” or “one who speaks in behalf of another”. We find that Paul tells us that the gift of prophecy is one of the gifts we should earnestly desire, among some others (1 Cor. 12:31), but then he tells us that he wants to show a more excellent way of using spiritual gifts...always in love.
A prophetic message should always be seasoned with the salt of love. Sometimes it is for an individual, like when the man stepped forward and showed Paul that he would be apprehended and imprisoned. Sometimes it is for a local group of followers of Jesus, like most of Paul’s letters. But then, there is the time when the tenor of the message is for the whole Body of Christ, which is like the Bible as a whole.
Most of Jesus prophetic words were spoken for the entire Church; The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), His parables, His scathing, yet needed words for the religious establishment, the Olivet Discourse (Matthew 25). Whenever there was a need for words to be spoken, Jesus (at the prompting of His Father) would speak them. All too often, we take it upon on ourselves to speak because we “feel led”, when in fact, we just want to be heard. Our view is the correct one (we think) and so everyone else should know it, too.
I have been guilty of this very thing. Thankfully, I never write it for others to see/read/hear unless I am ABSOLUTELY sure that it is for public consumption. To move or speak without God’s “thumbs up” can only do damage, while at the same time, to NOT move or speak when God says to can only mean that we are being disobedient to Him and, therefor, someone is not hearing what they need to hear.
Speaking in behalf of God is a sobering and humbling thing. It is not to be taken lightly nor is it a task to be ignored.
I claim no connection to the Lord that hasn't been available to those in the past nor to anyone listening. I just know that beyond the shadow of a doubt that I hear Him when He speaks and then do as I'm told. My sinfulness will arise and then I cannot hear Him above the din and end up writing some stupid crap. You would not believe how many notes/blogs I have written that have never been seen by anyone, not even my wife. Like I said...if it becomes clear that it's just me, then I know that no one will gain anything from it.
Listen to Him...if you get quiet you can hear Him. Turn off the tv, the computer, the iPod, the radio, the cd player. Shut out the talk shows, the blogs, the newspapers and magazines. Sit quietly and listen...you may be surprised what you can hear.
“Listen up! Why won’t you listen? God gave you ears, yet you refuse to listen! Hearing and listening are not the same thing, just as seeing and understanding are not the same thing. I have a message for you and in turn, you must go to the world.”
There are those who claim to be prophets, and then there are those who are prophets and may not realize it. Unfortunately the word “prophet” has been given a meaning that is only partially true. Most of the time it is used to describe someone who can foretell the future...but if we look at the Biblical prophets, most of them didn’t “forthsee” that often. Most of their messages were to the people of God, to as my Dad used to say, “straighten up and fly right”! Limiting the spiritual gift of prophecy to merely foretelling the future is like limiting the spiritual gift of healing to only healing people who are blind.
The word translated as “prophet”, in the Hebrew & Greek languages, merely means “mouth piece” or “one who speaks in behalf of another”. We find that Paul tells us that the gift of prophecy is one of the gifts we should earnestly desire, among some others (1 Cor. 12:31), but then he tells us that he wants to show a more excellent way of using spiritual gifts...always in love.
A prophetic message should always be seasoned with the salt of love. Sometimes it is for an individual, like when the man stepped forward and showed Paul that he would be apprehended and imprisoned. Sometimes it is for a local group of followers of Jesus, like most of Paul’s letters. But then, there is the time when the tenor of the message is for the whole Body of Christ, which is like the Bible as a whole.
Most of Jesus prophetic words were spoken for the entire Church; The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), His parables, His scathing, yet needed words for the religious establishment, the Olivet Discourse (Matthew 25). Whenever there was a need for words to be spoken, Jesus (at the prompting of His Father) would speak them. All too often, we take it upon on ourselves to speak because we “feel led”, when in fact, we just want to be heard. Our view is the correct one (we think) and so everyone else should know it, too.
I have been guilty of this very thing. Thankfully, I never write it for others to see/read/hear unless I am ABSOLUTELY sure that it is for public consumption. To move or speak without God’s “thumbs up” can only do damage, while at the same time, to NOT move or speak when God says to can only mean that we are being disobedient to Him and, therefor, someone is not hearing what they need to hear.
Speaking in behalf of God is a sobering and humbling thing. It is not to be taken lightly nor is it a task to be ignored.
I claim no connection to the Lord that hasn't been available to those in the past nor to anyone listening. I just know that beyond the shadow of a doubt that I hear Him when He speaks and then do as I'm told. My sinfulness will arise and then I cannot hear Him above the din and end up writing some stupid crap. You would not believe how many notes/blogs I have written that have never been seen by anyone, not even my wife. Like I said...if it becomes clear that it's just me, then I know that no one will gain anything from it.
Listen to Him...if you get quiet you can hear Him. Turn off the tv, the computer, the iPod, the radio, the cd player. Shut out the talk shows, the blogs, the newspapers and magazines. Sit quietly and listen...you may be surprised what you can hear.
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