What to Expect of God

I have been thinking lately about the degree to which we can expect blessing from God. Let me warn you that these thoughts are not clearly organized as it is something I have not yet reached a satisfactory answer to. 

Although as totally deprived sinful people we have no claim whatsoever to anything good, God promises time and again to bless us if we serve Him. “Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.” There is a sense that we can do good for God for the blessing that He promises. We are very, very slow to adopt a mindset of entitlement (which is really good) as we know that we deserve nothing. Yet is it not an act of faith to trust in God’s promises? If He promises to reward those who diligently seek Him, would it not be wrong to expect otherwise? I know here that the blessings we expect, and the blessings He gives rarely coincide. We overwhelmingly look for physical blessing. However looking at scripture, physical blessings are one of the lowest forms of blessing (compared to peace, joy, and a walk with our Father). So I am not at all encouraging people to expect monetary or other physical blessings (as these more often than not are actually curses). But I am considering the fact that expecting nothing in return for the service we give God may actually be a sign of a lack of faith. 

I think this mentality of fear to trust that God will bless stems from being way over focused on our weaknesses. “Wait a minute!” You may be thinking “we’re supposed to see our weakness.” I counter that we are not at all supposed to focus on our weakness. This is merely an inverse form of pride. Yes, we absolutely need to recognize our weakness, but that is only so that we can see the greatness of the one who is our life. Paul says “I might decrease so that He may increase!” The purpose of Paul (us) decreasing is not so that we can look at how weak we are but that we can see the glorious majesty of the One who can use us despite our weakness. We are weak, but He “has not given us a spirit of fear (or weakness), but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” 

So if we can subtract this inappropriate focus on our weakness and instead focus on His power, can we then go even further and expect Him to bless us like He promises He will? I do not know. I mean, yes we can obviously expect Him to fulfill His promises, but it also seems almost arrogant to expect blessing. How are these reconciled together?

I’d love to hear what you think! This is something that has come to be a focus of my thoughts and I’d love other peoples input on it so that I may reach an answer. 

Following is a passage of promise that I recently read from Leviticus. After this (if you continue reading in Leviticus), comes a passage where God promises punishment if His children turn away from Him. We obviously have no problem expecting and trusting that God will fulfill a promise to punish disobedience, why do we have so many problems with expecting/trusting that He will fulfill His promises of blessing? We also daily should be looking forward to our heavenly home where we will no longer be strangers, pilgrims, and wanderers. This is hope and expectations in one of God's promises. Why is there such a taboo on expecting God to fulfill His other promises?

‘If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments, and perform them, then I will give you rain in its season, the land shall yield its produce, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.

Your threshing shall last till the time of vintage, and the vintage shall last till the time of sowing; you shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely.

I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and none will make you afraid;

I will rid the land of evil beasts, and the sword will not go through your land.

You will chase your enemies, and they shall fall by the sword before you.

Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight; your enemies shall fall by the sword before you.

‘For I will look on you favorably and make you fruitful, multiply you and confirm My covenant with you.

You shall eat the old harvest, and clear out the old because of the new.

I will set My tabernacle among you, and My soul shall not abhor you.

 I will walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people.

I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves;

I have broken the bands of your yoke and made you walk upright.

Leviticus 26:3-13 (NKJV)

Reverence

‘By those who come near Me
I must be regarded as holy;
And before all the people
I must be glorified.’

Leviticus 10:2 (NKJV)

It seems like we have lost some of this reverence when it comes to prayer. 

In the prayer that Christ taught His disciples He began with

"Our Father, who is in Heaven, HOLY is Your name" 

The first thing He does is to point out to us the nature of the One we are speaking to.

Do we realize who it is we come before when we pray? Sometimes it seems like we have become flippant or comfortable with the fact that we come into the presence of absolute holiness when we approach our Father. 

This week I am going to try developing a habit in my prayer of beginning with an acknowledgement of God and His characteristics (especially that of holiness). I am quite suspicious that it will change the way I pray, the way I trust, and the way I see God. 

I invite you to join me.

Food for thought, is drinking really okay for Christians?

Then the Lord spoke to Aaron (the high priest), saying:  “Do not drink wine or intoxicating drink, you, nor your sons with you, when you go into the tabernacle of meeting, lest you die. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations, that you may distinguish between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean, and that you may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the Lord has spoken to them by the hand of Moses.”

Leviticus 10:9-11 (NKJV)

I have always been greatly troubled by individuals who call something sin that is not explicitly called sin in the Bible. The most common occurrence of this phenomenon (in my life) has been in the area of alcohol. My pastor believes that drinking alcohol is sin. I find this deeply troubling. Sin is not arbitrary or undefined. It is not up to us to determine what sin is where the Word is unclear. I do believe that there is enough said in the Word that paints consumption of alcohol in a negative light to say that drinking is for the most part stupid and that it should be avoided. But there is not enough to call it sin. 

So, as I’m prone to do when I disagree with something, I find myself often arguing against this belief that drinking is sin. Given the widespread belief that it is sin in the circles I walk one would judge that I am all for drinking given the number of times I argue against the fact that it is sin. This happens in other areas of conviction as well so it is not unique to this circumstance. I just like pushing back against what I see as false. Let me step away from that here.

The verses above make a compelling case that Christians should not drink. Aaron and his sons (the priests at that time) were restricted from drinking as they went about fulfilling their priestly duties. This was for three specific reasons: to discern between that which was holy and that which was unholy, between clean and unclean, and to be able to teach the word of the Lord. We are the priests of the New Covenant “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.” 1 Peter 2:9-10. May I offer as food for thought our duties as priests never end. The functions of the priesthood have changed from being a scheduled sacrificial system to one that requires our all. There is no fulfilling priesthood time and not fulfilling priesthood time. There are no breaks, no on/off switches. We are commanded to be holy always (this requires being able to always discern between holiness and un-holiness). We are told to be wise and discerning. We are told to teach. We are commanded to always be ready to give an answer for the hope that is within. 

So without saying that drinking is wrong or sinful, can we still say that it is something that Christians should not do? I am being led to think yes we can say that Christians should not drink. Although part of me still very much pushes against those who call it sin, another part of me is embracing with growing conviction that one could biblically argue that drinking negatively effects our ability to be ‘little Christs’ and fulfill our priestly duties.

I would love you hear your thoughts! 

I realize that there may be something to say about transference of Old Testament priestly duties/expectations to the New Covenant. This is one of the highlighted disconnects between dispensationalism and reformed theology. What is interesting is that given the set up of this argument one would expect that it would more likely be embraced by reformed theologians and yet dispensationalists are more likely to advocate this line of belief. Any thoughts or explanations of this? 

The Cross is Ugly, for it is a Sin Offering

Speaking of a sin offering . . .

But if he is not able to bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons, then he who sinned shall bring for his offering one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour as a sin offering. He shall put no oil on it, nor shall he put frankincense on it, for it is a sin offering. Then he shall bring it to the priest, and the priest shall take his handful of it as a memorial portion, and burn it on the altar according to the offerings made by fire to the Lord. It is a sin offering.

Leviticus 5:11-12 (NKJV)

I’ve been on a journey reading the Old Testament from front to back. At times it is incredible. I discover things about our Creator that I did not know before and I find myself being drawn to Him more every day. At other times unfortunately, it is less spiritually energizing. There are portions of the Word that are simply difficult to read through. Some of these that I’ve already encountered would be the dimensions and seemingly endless specifications for the building of the Tabernacle. Another (seemingly) tedious section I to be honest was not looking forward to reading was the laws laid out in Leviticus. However, reading this morning I discovered something of interest that I ended up pondering for quite some time. 

There were many different types of sacrifices that the Israelites were to offer before the Lord. There were burnt offerings, peace offerings, meal offerings, trespass offerings, sin offerings etc. How they were offered and what the sacrifices were varied depending on what type of offering it was supposed to be. Some offerings absolutely had to accompanied with frankincense, oils, or other sweet herbs (peace offerings that were supposed to be sweet before the Lord). The passage above sets a guideline for sin offerings that when looking back I saw was consistent throughout Exodus and Leviticus. Sin offerings were ugly offerings. The verses above specifically state that “He shall put no oil on it, nor shall he put frankincense on it, for it is a sin offering.”

Aspects of the sacrificial system were beautiful. An example can be found here. However, the sin offering was not. It was ugly, without refinement. Even atonement for sins committed by accident or unawares required an ugly sacrifice. I think we should keep this in mind as we claim the sacrifice for our sins as we come before the Lord in repentance. The cross was an ugly place. Beauty can be found in the love demonstrated there but the sacrifice required was no pretty thing. It was brutal, disgusting, unclean and horrible. There was nothing even abstractly beautiful or sweet about it. There are not words enough to describe the eternal awfulness that Christ experienced there, nor can we even begin to fathom the pain He endured. Why? It was a sacrifice that paid for sin. Sin is the ugliest, most revolting, most disgusting, and altogether most evil thing ever. The payment it demands is no less dark. It was not an easy thing that Christ did for us. This is not portrayed though in the images we see that are meant to represent the cross

The paintings we’ve seen and the mental images we carry of the cross have become soft and somehow beautiful. 

Pretty blue eyes and curly brown hair and a clear complexion

Is how you see Him as He dies for Your sins

But the Word says He was battered and scarred

Or did you miss that part

Sometimes I doubt we'd recognize Him

(Todd Agnew “My Jesus”)

Our perception has been skewed by soft and pretty pictures that do not display the brutality that Christ endured for us. When we come before God in repentance, we are claiming Christ’s sacrifice as enough for our sins. It is very similar to the Old Covenant in this respect. Yet we don’t even pause or spend a seconds worth of time or energy to consider the sacrifice we’re claiming. We don’t even ponder the significance of the blood that covers us or the death that brought us life. We do not appreciate the suffering that Christ endured for us to give us the ability to seek forgiveness of sins. The cross, the suffering, the death, the agony, the forsakenness have all somehow become foreign to our thoughts. We don’t like thinking about it. But we need too! This is the sacrifice that brings us life and forgiveness. This is the sacrifice that grants us access before the King of kings! This is the penalty for our sins. Each and every sin we commit necessitates Christ agonizing suffering. 

If you are seeking victory over sin, I exhort you to meditate on the ugliness of the cross. This is what Christ did to pay for the sin you’re struggling with. Don’t allow the sacrifice to become comfortable with you. Do not become complacent in realizing the horror that our sin causes. 

The cross is ugly, for it is a sin offering.
It is a sacrifice for MY sin! 

Get Pumped People - He is ALIVE!

He Is Alive from Heartland Community Church on Vimeo.

"Full of Grace and Truth"

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’”

And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

John 1:14-16 (NKJV)

In these verses we see another glorious contradiction so often present in our savior. In our human mind we see actions of things like mercy and justice as mutually exclusive. They cannot occur simultaneously. They can be exercised in part parallel with each other but cannot coexist in totality with each other. In an act of counterintuitive love these two met and kissed at the cross. “Mercy and truth have met together; Righteousness and peace have kissed.” Psalm 85:10 is a prophesy about the work of the cross. The cross is the only point in history where perfect righteousness (demand for justice, perfection, and truth) coexisted in one action – in the work of one person – in complete form with mercy (grace, peace, forgiveness and love). The Old Covenant was one of truth (demanding perfection, righteousness, and justice). This was the Law of Moses. However when Christ came and ushered in the New Covenant, He brought one that entailed satisfaction of both perfect righteousness and offered the greatest and most perfect display of love imaginable.

The verses from John 1 above comment on how Christ was full of both grace and truth. As humans it is extremely hard for us to be full of, or even to display at the same time these two seemingly diametrically opposed concepts. We tend to only be filled with one or the other. As a male I am a truth person. I love the down and dirty doctrines that require studious thought and research. I love earnestly defending the faith against attacks. I am by no means saying here that truth is tied with masculinity. Some of the most respected men in my mind have been grace people. In some ways these are the most manly of men as they seek to display Christ in their lives (as in my opinion the standard we should set for masculinity is Christ-likeness – see end note). I also know many women who are truth people. In general though, I think that men tend to be truth people and women tend to be grace people.

What I challenge you with (regardless of which side of the truth-grace continuum you fall on) is to be more like Christ. Christ’s display of grace in no way diminished his staunch defense of truth. His defense of truth in no way diminished his showering of grace. Power is found in the combination of these two concepts. This is not easy. I’m not even talking here about a balance (a balance implies falling in the middle of these two ends). What I’m saying we need is to be filled with both. Truth people, I am not challenging you to become less devoted to truth. Rather, I am exhorting you to grow in grace. Exercise discipline in grace when you advocate unapologetically for truth. Grace people, I by no means want you to diminish the grace you have, instead grow in knowledge of our Lord by studying His word. Speak with conviction and boldness in situations that require unshakable belief and determination in speaking the truth. Which of these two we display will change with circumstances. Christ at times demonstrated a strong display of truth while at other times his grace was seen in greater form. But never did his display of one contradict or diminish the presence the other. Knowing which to show when takes wisdom. As James encourages us, we need to faithfully pray for wisdom from above.

Regardless of whether you consider yourself to be a grace or truth person Ephesians commands us that we should be “speaking the truth in love, that you may grow up in all things into Him who is the head that is Christ” and 2 Peter exhorts us to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” May we grow to be filled with grace and truth as we strive to imitate Christ in us!

Endnote: As I’ve thought about what true masculinity looks like I’ve gone back and forth between to extremes. In general I rebel against the highly immature common conception of men being über-macho individuals with very minimal class, etiquette, and intelligence. On the other extreme I suppose I should label this as refined pansies is not much better though. As I ponder what men should look like I find no popular objective standard that does not necessarily exclude a wide range of individuals for things completely outside of their control (for instance some people are not born with strong frames and will never be strong or athletic) and yet these individuals can display the most masculine form of character. I am left only to conclude that the only objective standard by which masculinity can be measured is by the degree to which they pursue Christ-likeness in their lives. Christ as perfect in every way is the most manly man ever to have lived. The Word says He grew in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man. Growth is important but there is an order here He grew spiritually (in wisdom) first and then stature. I exhort men then to pursue wholeheartedly Christ-likeness in their lives.

Speak with Boldness and Conviction!

Typography

Exodus 14:13-14

“Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today. . . The LORD will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.”