Seeing Jesus: What we are freely given

1 Corinthians 2:12-14,16 (NASB)

12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, 13 which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.
14 But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.
16 For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ.

There are so many things He has freely given us that it is hard to write up even a partial list. Someone who has been "taught by the Holy Spirit" for many years have these things so integrated into one's life that they become hard to see.

The greatest of these is salvation by grace through faith. Ranking just below that is the free gift of the Holy Spirit, the ability through prayer and action to partake in the Kingdom of God, and the revelation of His love for us. All of these seem to be "moronic foolishness" to the natural man.

To the natural man, righteousness, or "right-standing" with his/her fellow natural man, is a matter of holding the right (or consensus) opinions, signifying that they hold the right opinions, and acting on those right opinions. These opinions are freely changed depending on circumstances. The Kingdom of God is not so.

For example, He has commanded us to love our neighbors, our brothers, our enemies, and, indirectly, ourselves and our families. Who does this leave out? No one.

This is not the way of the natural man. The natural man only loves those who love him.

Loving his enemies is moronic foolishness to the natural man. He cannot understand it. But it is what Christ did; He saved us "while we were yet sinners." To us, it is the wisdom of God.

Jesus, You have freely given us so many things, and given us the mind to understand those things. The natural man is like a blind man in a room full of books and artworks and treasures. He can not value any of those things. But we are given, as a gift, the ability to value them. And in the gift, we see You, Jesus.

Thank you, Lord, for that gift.

Seeing Jesus: Heb 10:16-17

Title: Intimacy

Hebrews 10:16-17 (NASB)
16 “This is the covenant that I will make with them
After those days, says the Lord:
I will put My laws upon their heart,
And on their mind I will write them,”
He then says,
17 “And their sins and their lawless deeds
I will remember no more.”

[Quoting Jeremiah 31:33-34]

John 14:21 (NASB)
21 He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.”

"I, the Lord, the Word of God, will write the Law of God on your hearts and minds. And I will remember your sins no more."

God, seeing our failure, our sin, our lawlessness, took pity on us. He showed us mercy in the new covenant, through the broken body of His Son Jesus. He, by grace, has chosen to forget our sins. He, by grace, has chosen to write His law on our hearts and minds.

We who were lawless now have His law inside us.

We can submit in love to the One who loves us because we have His commandments in us. And when we keep the commands He has written on our hearts, He reveals Himself to us.

What an act of intimacy, to give us so precious a gift.

Thank you Jesus for writing yourself, the Logos, the Word of God on our hearts and on our minds. Help us to be keep those commandments that You have written there.

Church, Synagogue and the Gathering; Part 2

Church, Synagogue and the Gathering; Part 2

Part 1 is here.

I have done word studies where I then go back to the Bible and "expand" or "amplify" the word in the context of the passage it occurs in. It is a fresh way of looking at and meditating on a passage.

One such application of this occurred when I realized that any place the word, "righteous," was used I could "expand" it to "righteous by faith" or "righteousness by faith."

I am going to do something similar here, with the words, "church" and "synagogue."

CS Lewis has Screwtape say:

One of our [the Devil's] great allies at present is the Church itself. Do not misunderstand me. I do not mean the Church as we see her spread out through all time and space and rooted in eternity, terrible as an army with banners. That, I confess, is a spectacle which makes our boldest tempters uneasy. But fortunately it is quite invisible to these humans.

Matthew 18:20 (NASB)

20 For where two or three have gathered together ["synago"] in My name, I [Jesus] am there in their midst.”

Ephesians 1:18-23 (NASB)

18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might 20 which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

This is the church: it is any assembly, in the name of Jesus, even if only 2 or 3 people. It is also the immensity of all the body of Christ, from Peter to the youngest Christian.

Matthew 16:18 (NASB)

18 I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.

"And upon this rock I will build my assembly, I will call forth a gathering, rooted in eternity, My body of whom I am the head, spread out through time and space; immense, powerful, full of the riches of your inheritance, and I will be in the midst of it."

Side note:
Is it possible to be a part of the body of Christ, and not "assemble together" or "congregate" or "collect together" or "be brought together" with other believers?

In English, we have collective nouns: a pride is an "assembly" of lions, a flock is an "assembly" of sheep or birds. The words, "church," "synagogue," and "body" are collective nouns for an "assembly" of Christians.

Jesus refers to a sheep, by itself, as being lost and which must be found. A sheep is still a sheep even if it is not part of the flock, but a sheep by itself is in danger.

Luke 15:4 (NASB)

4 “What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?

A sheep remains a sheep whether it is part of the flock or not. On the other hand, a sheep that is not part of a flock, and thus overseen by the shepherd, is likely to soon become a dead sheep. 

A Christian remains a Christian whether or not he is part of a church, but how healthy is that?

Therefore, if person refuses to be part of a local body, an assembly, a gathering, is he part of the body of Christ?

Or, merely because he is a Christian, he is a part of the Church, "spread out through time and space, and rooted in eternity?"

Seeing Jesus: Kindness

1 Peter 2:2-3 (NASB)

2 ...Like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, 3 if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.

Romans 2:4 (NASB)

4 Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?

The two words in these passages that are translated as “kindness” are closely related Greek words that are from an action verb. Even in English, to be kind usually means doing something. Here, God is not inactive or passive. He is doing things that lead me.

God’s tolerance and patience merely hold off punishment. It is His actions; His good, benign, benevolent, kind deeds to me that lead to repentance and to eternal life. His kindnesses reveal to me who He is.

He gives me many beautiful gifts, large and small, as I go along my way.

I have a friend, a brother in the Lord, who continually finds small change in the oddest of times and places. He takes them home and puts them on a windowsill, keeping them as a reminder of God’s goodness.

These kindnesses may be a coin, or the house the windowsill is in. It might be the startling beauty of a sunset or of a graceful dancer. It might be the soothing quiet of a moment in a park, or on the back porch, or in the watches of the night. It might be in the kindness of a stranger or a moment of prayer-filled ecstasy. All of these can be seen, held, tasted as the kindnesses of God.

Or just thrown away, ignored.

This is why it is important that the “eyes of my heart” be opened. I need to be able see these gifts as His kindness, part of my inheritance from a loving Father.  This is why thanksgiving is important. It is letting my loving Daddy know that He, and His gifts, are important.

And, since the word, “lead,” is also used for how a shepherd leads his flock, His kindnesses are how Jesus shepherds me.  He leads me by His many kindnesses. They act as a continual reminder of His (and the Father’s) love for me.

Repentance simply means “turn.” In response to His kindnesses, I turn to Him. I turn in thanksgiving, in joy, in sorrow at my sin, in everything.

Perhaps as important, when I see how my Father is kind to me, I am taught how to be kind to others. And, therefore, how to show His love to others, that they may be lead to repentance. 

Lord, in Your kind actions, You shepherd me to turn back to You. Thank you.

Fear of the Lord, part 2

Psalm 111:10a (NASB 95)
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom...

Luke 12:5 (NASB 95)
"But I will warn you whom to fear: fear the One who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him!

1 Peter 2:17 (NASB 95)
Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king.

1 John 4:16-18 (NASB 95)
We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.


Thoughts:

“Perfect love casts out fear.” But what of the “fear of God?”

As I transfer my fears from the wrong things to Him, to my Lord Jesus, I declare that He is the proper recipient of the fear that I am feeling over something else.

So doing, the fear of something that is not God becomes the “reverential awe” of Him who is God. And only God deserves the fear that is also “reverential awe.”

And as I turn my fears over to Jesus, as I make Him to become the correct object of my fears, He casts them out. His love is perfected in me as I see His love for me. Ultimately, I have no fear of Jesus because I have no fear of punishment. The world may have its fears, its terrors, its worries, and its anxieties but the love that God is perfecting in me will drive it out.

I am yet living and as long as I live I will have fears, but now I know better how to deal with them, Who to give them to, and how to triumph over them. Where before I cowered before them, I now have the choice to triumph.

Seeing Jesus - Hidden in Christ

Joshua 1:8 (NASB 95)
"This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success."

Psalm 32:7 (NASB 95)
You are my hiding place; You1 preserve me from trouble;
You surround me with songs of deliverance.

Psalm 31:19-20 (NASB 95)
(19) How great is Your goodness,
Which You have stored up for those who fear You,
Which You have wrought for those who take refuge in You,
Before the sons of men!
(20)You hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the conspiracies of man;
You keep them secretly in a shelter from the strife of tongues.

Psalm 119:114 (NASB 95)
You are my hiding place and my shield;
I wait for Your word.

Colossians 3:1-3 (NASB 95)
(1) Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. (2) Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. (3) For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

Philippians 4:8 (NASB 77)
Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let you mind dwell on these things.

Thoughts:

I am a "verbal" person. That is, I love words. I think in words. I meditate on the Word. Some people are visual and picture the things of God; some are auditory and sing "songs of deliverance."

I have a "hiding place," a place that I can set my mind on. I may meditate on a word, like "grace." Or a phrase, like "peace beyond understanding." Or a bit of a verse, like "It was for freedom that Christ set us free." As I do, Jesus reveals Himself to me. He brings the word, the phrase, the verse alive to me in a way that it has not been before.

The "hiding place" of others may be a particular style of worship: a "hymn sing" or "soaking" in anything from simple piano playing to a raucous worship band. Others use a "sanctified imagination" to picture Jesus and heaven.

In such a state, in such a place, the things that I call platitudes or cliches, the "trite" sayings that I hear from others, suddenly are profoundly real. There is a simplicity to devotion to Jesus. He gathered the simple to Himself; He gave a simple message in simple words. So simple was His call that it was considered "foolishness" by the wise and powerful.

I have a physical body and I interact with the world, but my life is now hidden with Jesus Christ. That life can be discerned by my actions and words, but in a very real sense it is hidden.

Romans 5:1-2

Romans 5:1-2
1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
2 through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.

These two verses are an amazing summary of the purpose and accomplishments of Jesus. I am justified by faith. Not by works or accomplishments. Not by emotions or emotional state. Not by any form of political creed. Only by faith in Jesus.

Mankind’s long war with God is over. We can call that war a result of sin or a result of human nature. We have been in conflict God and now are not. But God’s peace is not just the absence of conflict. It “passes understanding;” it is a spiritual force in its own right. However, that peace is not a goal; not a weapon; not a political agenda. That peace, and the justification it springs from is “through our Lord Jesus Christ.” It has no other source, no other mediator. He alone provides the introduction and the access to the grace we stand in.

We believe that Jesus is our savior and our lord. As a result, we receive a permanent gift of salvation and, from it, peace.

Jesus, You are my access, my doorway to peace with God. And I have this access as a free gift. I have done nothing to deserve it. And I am grateful.

Seeing Jesus

Job 42:1-6
Then Job answered the Lord and said, “I know that You can do all things, and that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted. ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’ “Therefore I have declared that which I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.” ‘Hear, now, and I will speak; I will ask You, and You instruct me.’ “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; but now my eye sees You; Therefore I retract, and I repent in dust and ashes.” (NASB95)

Thoughts:
There is a difference between knowing about someone, and knowing them by experience. Job had heard about God, His mercy, His expectations, His righteousness. But he did not know God, Face to face.
I can chose to hold God at arm’s length, decline to meet with Him, ignore Him. He allows this. But in the end I only know about God, or rather, I think that I know about Him. But even that knowledge is merely what I chose to know about Him, rather than know Him as He is.

When I only know about God, I can chose to know about some facet of Him: His grace or His love, for example. And I can chose to not know about His holiness, His wrath, or His righteousness. I can approach Him as Savior while walking away from Him as Lord and Master. And in the end, I will neither know about Him nor will know Him by experience.

Job had walked to the best of his ability in obedience to the God that he know about. And God had been profoundly good and loving to Job. But Job still did not know God until God had revealed Himself to Job.

Seeing Jesus

CS Lewis. The Screwtape Letters. Letter 15

“The humans live in time but [God] destines them to eternity. He therefore, I believe, wants them to attend chiefly to two things, to eternity itself, and to that point of time which they call the Present. For the Present is the point at which time touches eternity. Of the present moment, and of it only, humans have an experience analogous to the experience which [God] has of reality as a whole; in it alone freedom and actuality are offered them. He would therefore have them continually concerned with eternity (which means being concerned with Him) or with the Present–either meditating on their eternal union with, or separation from, Himself, or else obeying the present voice of conscience, bearing the present cross, receiving the present grace, giving thanks for the present pleasure. “

Here and now. We meet Jesus in the here and the now. Yesterday is memories. Tomorrow is a set of plans, fears and hopes that may not even happen. Here and now is where I meet Jesus, where I see Him, where I wait for Him, where I praise Him, where I pray to Him.

Acts 10:33. So I sent for you immediately, and you have been kind enough to come. Now then, we are all here present before God to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord."

What better place to be than to be "here present before God"?