Now, now, now...

'Now, now, now, now, now think about it like this...'

It seems this is what Jesus is saying during much of His three and a half year teaching and touring ministry in the Middle-East. Redefining, clarifying, simplifying and reconciling new realities based on ancient truths about Himself.

The Beatitudes - clarifying the blessed.

Initiating the 'born-again' - this is completely out-of-the-current-box.

Dying to the flesh in order to gain eternal life - completely turning the wisdom of man upside down here.

Oaths, divorce, revenge, adultery and the mind, idolatry and the heart, sabbath and law and...grace.

It's as if Jesus was saying to Israel, 'Now, now, now, now, now think about YHVH this way now.'

The Church must continue in Jesus' footsteps saying, 'Now, now, now...'; readdressing, according to His New Covenant, our habitual attitudes toward our 21'st century version of Christianity.

As a friend always notes, 'be cautious when dealing with ancient boundary stones,' I would echo that most of them need not be removed. Often we simply need to re-examine why they were put there in the first place without altering Jesus' precepts.
'Now, now, now, now, now think about it like this...'

Read Matthews Gospel for a refresher course on thinking anew.

Word of Beard

'I have brought You glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do...I have revealed You to those whom You gave me out of the world...I pray also for those who will believe in Me through their message.' John 17:4,6,20

In His prayer in the garden, recorded by John, Jesus - the Master Teacher - models a holistic way of connecting with the Father personally and corporately:

UP: (17:1-5) Jesus models having a direct connection to the father in prayer, fellowship and worship. Following in His footsteps we need to be connected as adopted heirs to the throne.

IN: (17:6-19) Jesus prays for those closest to Him, that His disciples would be unified, protected, sanctified and sent. We need to be growing in Truth individually and together as the Church.

OUT: (17:20-26) Jesus prays for the future Kingdom, the future Church, those His disciples will reach around the globe through time and space. We are 'the others'. We also need to continue reaching outward graciously as salt and light.

This UP-IN-OUT attitude wholly shapes our spiritual journey.

Word of Beard

'...to those who have been called, who are loved by God the Father and Kept by Jesus Christ.'

Called: chosen, awakened, elected, handpicked, predestined, convinced...
Loved: deeply cherished, set-apart, disciplined, reconciled
Kept: protected, held, hemmed in

The Danger of Self-Sufficiency

I recently taught on Self-Sufficiency at LakeView Church. Very challenging topic and passage (2 Samuel 24).

David acknowledged his self-sufficient sin - repented.
He shifted gears in his attitude towards God - (re)reliance.
He then owns the consequences in his restoration - responsibility.

This is an individual heart issue that if ignored becomes a communal or corporate failure of Christians to actually be the Church. Spirit-dependency must replace self-sufficiency.

'May the Lord your God accept you.' He has. He will.

Word of Beard

'Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.' John 17:17

In the garden at the end of His days with the twelve Jesus spent very intense and very intentional time in prayer. Praying that His disciples would be 'set apart for noble purposes' defined by truth. Truth does exist. It isn't subjective. It isn't private nor individual. It's universal. Eternal.

And it's found in the word. Scripture. The very word God spoke through His prophets of whom Jesus was the greatest.

Worship

...holistically giving ones honor and respect and glory to the Creator and Savior.

We lift up Heart, Soul, Mind and Strength.

We speak of Him and to Him.
We kneel before His presence and Stand Firm in His power.
We move when He moves and stay when He stays.
Our thoughts are redeemed by Him and directed toward His goodness.
Our hearts are broken at the cross and made new in salvation.
Our souls come alive at the sound of His Word.

We gather not simply to sing, but sing to connect on a deeper level with the movement and fluidity of the Spirit as the living and active Word.

We pray not to hear ourselves speak, but we pray to be unified with our Creator.

We listen to the Word being taught, not simply because it's what Christians do, we listen to gather and profess truth, equip the saints, encourage one another, renew our hearts and minds, ground ourselves in divine knowledge…and become like Christ as we breath in the very Words He has breathed out.

Out of obedience we gather yet out of desire we worship.

We gather to worship just as we will throughout eternity.

Word of Beard

'...let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.' Hebrews10:22

Being confident that by entering into an authentic relationship with Jesus we are forgiven, justified and reconciled to Him eternally - we can draw near to Him as Adam and Eve did in the garden, as the 12 disciples did so regularly with Jesus.

'Sprinkled' is the language of the O.T. sacrifice, where blood would be sprinkled on items to cleanse them. To be washed with pure water is to wipe away all impurity. We don't have to feel guilty all the time once we're forgiven.

We actually can draw near to the One who's blood was sacrificed on our behalf.