Rebellion, Protest and the Divine Right of Kings

Living in DC, most all the local buzz is about politics.  It’s a little strange for me, because I was never really that interested in politics.  I tended to ignore it most of the time.  This was my philosophy: God controls politics anyway(Romans 13:1-7), so why worry about it?

Some protesters got arrested a couple days ago in the hallway outside Nancy Pelosi’s office.  They had been tearing pages from the new health care bill, throwing crumpled pieces through the doorway while shouting things like “You’re going to Hell!”  Embarrassing things like that serve to strengthen my philosophy to just stay out of it.

But still, I pray.  The Bible says to pray, so that’s what I do.  I pray in public places, and I pray in the closet.  I’m really not certain how effective the public prayer is.  After all, Jesus discouraged it.  It can seem like a protest, and I don’t want to be a rebel(1 Sam. 15:23).

What I do know is that God uses our leaders for His purposes.  Here is a prayer I spoke silently in front of the Supreme Court the other day: “Lord, just as you used your servant Nebuchadnezzar to judge the Daughter of Zion, use these nine Supreme Court justices to judge the Daughter of Washington with all righteousness.”

“First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.”—1 Timothy 2:1-2

Parallel Parking

One thing I’d never done before I moved to DC is parallel park.  When I got here, I had to learn fast, because there are almost no parking lots or driveways in the city.  It’s not a bad thing, just very different.

There are many things in life we need to adapt to.  Think of it: if I relied only on my previous driving training, refusing to change and learn a new thing, I would be completely lost.  Even now, I would still be driving around the city, completely unsettled, never finding rest.

There’s one other thing to which I needed to change my approach: my relationship with God.  My lifestyle is completely different from what it was just three short months ago.  Gone are the days of sleeping on my friend’s floor, reading books all morning and spending all afternoon in the prayer room.  Now I have a job, a commute, a half-hour lunch break.  When I get home, I’m worn out and want to go to sleep.  Where does God fit in all this?  I’m finding out more and more each day.  It really is exciting finding new ways to seek after Him.  It’s difficult, and it’s worth it.

“Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob.  Selah“—Psalm 24:6

Portion: It’s What You Get

I’ve been hearing the word “portion” mentioned a lot in Church lately, and I realized that I didn’t really know what it meant.  I looked it up in the Bible, which is a very good place for looking up true stuff.

In the Torah, the portion was what each individual gave to God in sacrifice: the best part of their crop and herd, used in part to feed the priests and the poor.  In the book of Joshua, a portion is what God gave to each tribe of Israel: its own part of the land.  In some places, a good portion of food was given to the favored one.  In many others, God’s wrath is said to be the portion of the wicked.  The flesh of the slain is the portion of dogs and jackals.

What is a portion?  To put it simply, a portion is what you get.  You get it because it’s yours, set apart exclusively for you.  Whether good or bad, small or great, it’s something you can take and hold on to. Your portion belongs to no one else.  And what is the portion of a follower of God?  Check out this verse:

“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”—Psalm 73:26

My portion is God Himself!  Honestly, there is no other I’d rather have than this relationship with my creator.  This is eternal life: to know God.  The greatest Person in all the universe gave Himself for you.  Let’s follow the example of Mary of Bethany, who would let nothing get in the way of her being with the Lord Jesus.

“but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”—Luke 10:42

Hang-Ups

I went to a Christian rock festival yesterday.  It actually rained for the entire 9 hours I was there, so I was soaked and shivering much of the time, but it was really fun regardless.  I saw seven bands: Decyfer Down, Stellar Kart, Disciple, Hawk Nelson, Kutless, Skillet and Jeremy Camp.

Before playing the song “Those Nights,” John Cooper of Skillet said something like this: “On those nights, we need to remember, we have our God (crowd: whoo!), our friends (whoo!), and our music (WHOOO!)!  I noticed that the crowd screamed louder for “music” than for “God,” and that offended me a little.   Could it be that some people have become hung up on music, and miss what the truly important thing is?

— — —

Half-way through the last act, I left the crowd and went for a walk, because my knees had started to hurt.  I was standing off by myself, and this guy walked up to me and started talking.  The conversation went something like this:

Guy: Isn’t it great?
Me: What?
Guy: God, isn’t he great?
Me: Oh, yeah man, He’s amazing.  Really amazing.
Guy: You ready for it all to end?
Me: I don’t know, man.
Guy: The world’s about to end, you know.
Me: Yeah, He’s coming soon.
Guy: You know the swine flu vaccine, they’re locking people up in California.
Me: People are getting it from the vaccine?  They’re quarantine…
Guy: No, if they don’t get the vaccine, they’re locking them up in     concentration camps.
Me: Uh…

The guy then got a call on his cell phone and walked away, so I walked away.  Anyway, strange conversation, right?  I wonder, have some people become seriously hung up on end-time conspiracy theories?

— — —

Today, I was talking to a guy at church about healing revivals, and he remarked, “I wish we could just go over to Bethel and just take the entire church and bring it here,” and later, “If you have a healer, don’t let them go.  It’s like, if you’re in one room, and Jesus is in the other room, are you going to stay there?”  As much as I appreciate the gifts and ministries of great men of God, do you think that some people have become hung up on these gifts and ministries?  Have they somehow exalted these things as an ideal, as a false vision of perfection?

Don’t let anything, even good things, get in the way of your love relationship with the God of the universe.

“The seventy-two returned with joy and said, ‘Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.’  He replied, ‘I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.  I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.’”—Luke 10:17-20

Don’t Make God Wait!

First off, let me just say, this post is definitely directed at one particular person: me.  I am one of the worst procrastinators I know, sadly.  For some reason, I always seem to wait until the last possible minute to do important things.  That’s why I write posts like this.  It will be a great reminder in the future, maybe even make me a little more responsible.  I hope.

Now to the point.  I was thinking about a particular scripture the other day.  This one, actually:

“But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.”(2 Peter 3:8)

So, what does that mean?  I know a lot of people who use this verse as an argument for an “old earth,” meaning the “days” in the book of Genesis were, in fact, spans of billions of years.  I’m not so sure about all that, but this I do know.  When God tells me to do something now, He means now.

When He says, “Lay down your life,” and, “Follow me,” He doesn’t mean tomorrow.  What, will we do it tomorrow and make Him wait a thousand years?  Three years from now?  That’s one million years to God!

Time may seem troublesome to us for now, but take hope in this: God’s timing is perfect.  If you’re living for Him now, you can trust that He will be faithful to you, His beloved child.  He does not delay in forgiving us of every sin.

“By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.”–1 John 3:16

Atmosphere

Recently, I signed up for my first ever personal health insurance plan.  It’s funny how smells are so connected to memory.  Just the thought of a dentist’s office brought back that all-familiar sterile, chemical scent into mind along with the slight background hum of a cleaning drill, and I was brought into its atmosphere for the entire day.

Much better than a fluoride treatment on a hot day, though, is the atmosphere that God can create around us every day.  Stop and think for a minute.  Are we affecting the people around us?  Is the impression we leave on others one of incredible unworldliness, or just that of another lame religious hobbyist?  We offer something real, more real than the smooth smell of tires on asphalt, or the feel of shimmering beads of sweat, dripping into the pores of a freshly-cut football field.

Our love is not of this world.  It’s something else entirely.  Are we emanating this love using every fiber of our being?  Are we letting God use us to draw others to Himself?  We, by the power of Christ, can create an atmosphere that transcends even the air we breathe.

“But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him.”–2 Corinthians 2:14

Love and Death

There is a connection between these two realities, love and death.  They are connected on a level deeper than I can now comprehend.  It is a Divine mystery, one which I fully intend to search out.  How much does God love me, and how much can I love God?  I believe the answer to both questions lies in the extent of our embrace of death.

I believe there are two different types of death which we must learn to embrace, if we seek perfect love: His death and mine.  His is most important, but mine is just as important.  For you see, He loved me first.  But if I don’t love Him back, our love is non-existent.

We look to the cross then, the epicenter of Divine Death and Love.  God loved us so much that He died.  That is one thing I have not yet comprehended fully. Regardless, it is something Jesus invites us to partake of.  We must eat of the body that was broken for us and drink of the blood that was spilled.  We must embrace His death if we hope to love Him.

Next comes our death.  I’m not talking about a physical death; we could physically sacrifice  ourselves and the act be completely meaningless(see 1 Corinthians 13:3).  No, what I speak of is entirely spiritual.  You see, there’s a thing called “self,” and it’s something we must get rid of if we want to follow Jesus.  Every selfish desire must be laid down: every sin or distraction or dream that hinders love needs to die.

Don’t worry.  It may seem scary or unfair at first, but the blessings of God are infinitely better than any of our own worldly pursuits.  You miss nothing when you choose to love, to lay down your life for the sake of God and others.  You receive the greatest gift of all: an amazing relationship with your creator.

“Precious in the sight of the LORD
is the death of his saints.”–Psalm 116:15

Why Do I Love God?

I was just pondering this question the other day.  I was thinking about how God unconditionally loves me, and if I could do the same for Him.  He did die for me, after all.  It’s an amazing question, and one which I think everyone should should have to answer.  And are there right and wrong ways, right and wrong motives for loving God?  I wonder.

One of the first reasons that I thought of was that I am commanded to love God.  That’s very true(Duet. 6:5).  Although, I think it’s much more than that.  You see, God always commands us to do things that are good for us.  Following His commands shouldn’t be a chore, if we’ve received the heart of them.  And if love was just a command, it wouldn’t be a very deep love at all.

Anyway, we’re not under the bondage of the law anymore.  We’re under grace(Rom. 6:14).  With the new covenant created by Jesus’ death on the cross, we have grace, forgiveness and victory.  So, is that why I love God?  Do I love Him because He’s given me so many blessings?  Well, yeah, but I don’t love Him just for what He’s given me.  If that were the case, He’d just be buying my affections.  No one, especially God, would want that kind of shallow, one-sided love.  In addition, we’ll all have trials and suffering at some point.  If the benefits are the foundation of our love, it will quickly dissolve in those times.

No, our love for God should be very simple, I think.  It shouldn’t be out of a sense of obligation or legalism.  He is Love.  When you know who He is, I don’t think you can help it.  He’s very lovable.  I love God because I believe He is who He says He is.  He is God, and He is good.  He is the Lover, and I am His beloved.  We just love each other. I think it’s as simple as that.

“And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”
–Hebrews 11:6

Do Not Lose Heart

What does depression do?  Where does depression hurt?  It’s your heart.  It makes you lose heart.  I have friends who are struggling with this horrible, deadly disease, and I can say that most times I feel powerless to in any way help them.  It is almost unfathomable to me, how anyone could be so down, especially Christians who are supposed to know the ever-reaching love of God.  It’s frustrating.

But you know, I have the love of Christ in me.  So I know that I won’t ever give up on them.  I can be there to encourage and to pray.  I can come against any and every evil spirit of pride, hate or depression that’s taken a hold of my brother in Christ.  I just wish something would really happen, like drastically.  And I can’t see much progress.  I wish God would work faster, but I must trust in His perfect timing.

There’s only so much encouragement I or anyone else can give.  There is a limit to our human abilities, our medical remedies.  But there is no limit to the glorious power of the Spirit of God.  He places light and hope into our hearts.  He transforms us from the inside out.  He does it for me, and He does it for the suffering people around me.  My role as an intercessor is this: to lift them up into the hands of God and let Him do His perfect work.  It’s hard sometimes, but I’ll keep praying.  Because that’s what love is.  Love doesn’t give up.

“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”–2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Do Not Love The World

I wonder sometimes, what kind of anointing the early apostles had?  How could they, mere fishermen-turned-students, end up transforming the world the way they did?  I think it was because, they believed.  They knew personally, intimately, the God whom they served.  The Holy Spirit dwelt within them.  They had a commission and a mission field: to make disciples of the entire world.

Funny thing is, we have all those same things.  So why don’t we have the same anointing?  There must be something more than these.  I think, maybe, it’s our character.  Has anyone ever heard of faithfulness or humility?  How about holiness and consecration?  Can we do the little things, or are our heads too full of extravagant dreams to realize we’ve never left the starting line?  Are we too proud to learn or to accept correction?  Are we in love with the world and the things of the world?  Can we say we belong to God when we are too busy pursuing pleasure to pray?  I’ll let you answer for yourself.

There is a strange extreme nature to the gospel.  His name is Jealous.  He will not share you with any other lover.  Love what He loves: Himself, yourself, other people, and the rest of His creation.  Hate what he hates: rebellion, pride, injustice, and all other forms of sin.  It’s a different way than what I’m seeing now.  And I’m not telling you to never watch TV again.  I’m just making an observation: if we really lived for Him, I don’t believe we’d  be watching much TV.

“And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.”–1 John 2:17