Category: Forgiveness

Day 13 – “meditate on these things”

Phil 4:8 (NKJV) Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.

“meditate”….

I was just going over this verse again and thought I’d look into the action of this verse.  This is the command (so to speak) that Paul gives about all the things true, noble, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous and praiseworthy.

Admittedly, my first thought on the word “mediate” brings out visions of sitting cross-legged, back straight, chest out, eyes closed, with my arms outstretched and my hands palms up, making “o’s” with my fingers (yes… with my pinky out!) while chanting  ‘Ohmmmmmmm‘….  I’m not sure that’s exactly what Paul meant when he chose that word.

According to Strong’s, the word translated as “meditate”  (logizomai) means: “1 to reckon, count, compute, calculate, count over. 2 to reckon inward, count up or weigh the reasons, to deliberate. 3 by reckoning up all the reasons, to gather or infer.  Additional Information: This word deals with reality. If I “logizomai” or reckon that my bank book has $25 in it, it has $25 in it. Otherwise I am deceiving myself. This word refers to facts not suppositions (emphasis added).”

The “added information” is very interesting when you couple it with the origin of the word. Logizomai is a form of “logos” which specifically deals with uttered (spoken) word by a living voice.

In several of the previous posts breaking down this passage, God showed me – and this now confirms it – that what I am to meditate on is what God says about me – not my shortcomings and past failures – as it relates to all things true, noble, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous and praiseworthy. (NOTE: each word links to the previous post I did for that word)

What God says is 100% absolute truth and not supposition.  God says that all my past failures are forgiven (1 John 1:9) and forever forgotten “… as far as the east is from the west (Ps 103:12)” and no longer “meditate-able.’

All my past failures and shortcomings are 100% supposition, conjecture and theory

This is good news O my soul… very good news indeed….

… Running After Papa

The Artist

Exodus 26

The Walls of the Tabernacle

It’s interesting as you read Exodus 26 that God has a very specific structure – or architecture, if you like – on HOW the tabernacle was to be built, but yet He left room for the creativity of the individual – the artisan – in places of the construction. For example, God very specifically defines the length, width, type and colors of materials, numbers of panels, connective and mounting procedures for the various walls – as well as how many layers of walls and in what order, but left the interpretation of “with artistic designs of cherubim you shall weave them.” (Ex 26:2 and Ex 26:31)

We all know that if 3 artists paint the same picture, they will all 3 look very different, because of the natural giftings and interpretation of the artists.

God’s tabernacle was very specifc in design. God’s tabernacle was very specific in structure. God’s tabernacle was very specific in function. But God left the “interface” to the community – how it was viewed and presented – to the creativity He instilled in its artisans.

You are an artist.

I have to believe God has used the Mosaic Tabernacle as a picture for our lives. He has defined a structure, an “architecture” for our lives, but has left the interface to our community to the creativity He instilled in us. This is the beauty of our individual testimonies. No two stories are the same… on purpose! Our job is to weave the tapestry with our story. God’s responsibilty is to use that tapestry to engage others and minister to others.

The Mercy Seat

Exodus 16:34 “You shall put the mercy seat upon the ark of the Testimony in the Most Holy.”

I love the way the Hebrew word is translated as the “mercy seat”. In looking up the origin of the word, it means “atonement cover” or “a central place where sins are forgiven.”

The connotation is that it is a separate place, a place specific for the purposes of atonement. Atonement is just a $2 word that means (according to Webster’s) “the reconciliation (to restore to harmony) of God and mankind through the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ.”

Some of the walls of the tabernacle were made with fibers and woven. Some of the walls were made from animals. Ex 26:7 says to use goat’s hair. It is unclear if that’s the skin of the goat with the hair intact, or if that’s the goat’s hair woven into cloth. But Ex 26:14 is very clear that two other layers are made by the skin of rams dyed red, and the skin of badgers. That implies that there were LOTS of animals killed in order to fashion together coverings for the tents. With the death of those animals, much blood was shed – I suspect that’s one of the reasons the rams skins were dyed red – to remind the Isrealites of the blood that was shed to make the covering.

Back to the “mercy seat”. One of the definitions is “atonement cover”. Are you starting to get draw a connection here? This mercy seat – this atonement cover – was a foreshadowing of what Christ’s blood would do for us… cover our sins. The death of Jesus – the sacrifice of the Lamb of God (John 1:29) – covered our sins and reconciled us back to the Father; back to right standing as Sons and Daughters of the Most High.

The cross is the central place where sins are forgiven (our other definition of the mercy seat.) Only the cross covers the sins of my past, my present and my future in order to reconcile – to restore back to harmony – my life with God. Salvation – willingly yielding control of every part of my life to the lordship of Jesus Christ – is a one-time event. When my submission is authentic, I only need to do this once. However, transformation is an ongoing process. I have, I do, and I will screw up – hopefully it will become fewer and fewer times as I journey. Regardless, when I screw up, it doesn’t take long for Daddy to draw that to my attention and I am quick to repent. This is where I go to the mercy seat again, not for salvation, but to ask forgiveness. Remember, the mercy seat is the central place where sins are forgiven. 1 John 1:9 tells me that God is faithful to forgive me if I ask him and James 5:16 tells me that I can be healed of my sin in the confidence and prayer of another brother in Christ.

The mercy seat in the Mosaic temple was a physical and literal place. It was a place where animals were sacrificed to atone for the sins of individuals, families and the nation. When Christ died for all those sins and so many more, the temple walls were ripped from top to bottom by God himself to signify that the mercy seat was no longer behind the veil. Jesus is the mercy seat. Jesus is in my life. However, I still like visible remembrances. So in my life, I draw on a physical mercy seat – sometimes its over the phone with a brother, sometimes its in my room with my wife, sometimes it’s at a table at the local diner.

How do both these relate?

When I am free from the bondages of sin in my life – because I go to the mercy seat – I am free to be the artistic interface to my community presenting – in my own unique perspective and my own unique testimony – all that God has done,  is doing, and will do IN  me because of the mercy seat!

Running After Papa…

Faith & Doubt (Mark 11)

Those who read my blog regularly know we sleep to the New Testament playing on my MP3 player 24×7. Every day, I wake up to a new passage. Today I woke up to the MP3 player playing Mark 11 and it captured me this morning. So, that’s what I studied. IT IS RICH… Here is just SOME of the greatness of this chapter.

Mark 11:12-14

Jesus curses a fig tree because there is no fruit on it; and rightfully so. Did you catch the end of verse 13 where it says “… for it was not the season for figs.” Clue #1: This isn’t about a Jesus taking it out on a fig tree because he was hungry. The end of verse 14 provides Clue #2 where it says, “... and the disciples heard it.” OK. I think Jesus was setting them up for a lesson, which comes “later”, when we get to verses 20-26.

Mark 11:20-26

The next morning the fig tree is dried up from the roots (Clue #3: OK… even Roundup doesn’t kill a fig tree overnight – something supernatural is going on here). When Peter notices (Yeah Peter!) Jesus lays it on them.

22 So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. 23 For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. 24  Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.  25 And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. 26 But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.”

OK. Quick Greek lesson. Faith (v22) = pistis, which means to “believe to a complete trust.” Doubt (v23 “does not doubt”) = diakrinomai, which means “judge, or to judge there is a difference.” Heart (v23) = kardia, which means “inner self, including: the volition, the mind, the desires, etc., though the facility of the intellect may be slightly more emphasized.” Believe (v23) = pisteuo, which is “faith, believe to the extent of complete trust.” Says (v23) = laleō , which implies a literal breaking of the sound waves, to speak aloud. Received (v24) = lambano, “to take hold of, grasp, grab, acquire.”

I’m not advocating a “name it and claim it” mentality, because the Scripture is also clear that the Lord will give us the desire of our hearts – meaning when we are close to him, in intimate fellowship with Him, our desires will be planted in us by Him. This means we won’t be asking for a new Lexus, or a million dollars, or any self-centered, self-pleasuring thing. We will want what He wants and our prayers will come into agreement with His heart.

What I do think this passage, and what Jesus was trying to teach the disciples, is this. Our mind is the key to our belief and ultimately our faith. Clearly, “doubt” in this passage is the antithesis of “faith” – in this passage. When I unpacked “doubt,” it is very clearly dealing with the mind – “to judge“, or “to judge there is a difference.” That says to me that my mind is evaluating what’s coming out of my mouth (aka, my prayer) with what it believes and measuring up any discrepancy, or difference.

The second key for me, comes in verses 25-26. An odd place, at the surface, to throw in a seemingly unrelated statement. But Jesus does not throw down random thoughts. These are very related. For the sake of brevity, unforgiveness affects our prayers. Its related to the previous thoughts. If I haven’t forgiven someone, then when I pray to Father, my mind (my “heart”) is constantly evaluating the truth of it all. If I haven’t or can’t forgive someone, then the truth of God forgiving me is something my heart can’t receive, and if God hasn’t forgiven me, then how can I believe (pisteuo) that He will hear – much less answer – my prayers? This is when my heart diakrinomai (doubts).

What then is the significance of “says” in verse 23? Again, for brevity, and I may write another blog later on this, it has to be audible. I know I am way too guilty of praying silently, quietly, and in my Spirit – not always with my tongue, aloud, audibly. I believe there is significance to the implications of the word laleo. Jesus cursed the fig tree (which remember was NOT in season) aloud (the disciples heard it) because there is power in our words and in our audible prayers. This is going to require some more digging into…

Daddy, you are SO good. Thank you for your Word. Thank you for time with me this morning. May the truth of your Word and the truth of your examples sink deeply into my heart today, so that I will not doubt in my heart, so that I will not judge there to be a difference in what I say and what I know about You.

Running After Papa…

Standing Firm in Weakness (2 Cor 6:3-8)

2 Corinthians 6:3-8 (New International Reader’s Version)

3 We don’t put anything in anyone’s way. So no one can find fault with our work for God. 4 Instead, we make it clear that we serve God in every way. We serve him by holding steady. We stand firm in all kinds of trouble, hard times and suffering. 5 We don’t give up when we are beaten or put in prison. When people stir up trouble in the streets, we continue to serve God. We work hard for him. We go without sleep and food. 6 We remain pure. We understand completely what it means to serve God. We are patient and kind. We serve him in the power of the Holy Spirit. We serve him with true love. 7 We speak the truth. We serve in the power of God. We hold the weapons of godliness in the right hand and in the left. 8 We serve God in times of glory and shame. We serve him whether the news about us is bad or good. We are true to our calling.

When it really comes down to it, I – in no way – understand suffering like Paul did. I’m pretty sure I speak for many reading this blog when I say that. I am NOT saying that real persecution of the Church doesn’t exist, because I’ve been to places where it does. I know that people are imprisoned for becoming followers of Jesus Christ. I know there are places where people are executed for becoming followers of Jesus Christ.

But where I live – in America, in the “Bible Belt” – there is more apathy than persecution. So, does the modern-day Christian, living in the Bible Belt of America, suffer for the faith? While it may not be life or death, for me and my family, our hardship came in the form of obedience – of responding to God’s call.

Two years ago, God put a call on our lives that has forever changed us and is by far, the most difficult thing Father has ever asked us to do. I wish that I could proclaim like Paul that I “… stand firm in all kinds of trouble, hard times and suffering…” but I’m afraid I can’t say that.

Over the last two years I have felt – at different times – un-informed, un-prepared, un-capable, un-able, un-loved, unable to love, and un-sure that I even heard God at all. I have felt, at times, that I totally missed God. I wonder if I have what it takes to answer God’s call. I have discovered that God doesn’t require me to be good enough. He is. I love the way Anthony Evans puts it in his song “Good Enough”.

“Good Enough” on Anthony Evans CD Letting Go

HERE IT HERE on www.Last.FM

Verse1:
Hold on you got the wrong guy
And I’m wondering why you don’t seem to see
The job at hand needs a better man
But for some crazy reason you’re calling me
Overwhelmed and underprepared
It’s written on my face
I’m scared
But I then I hear you call out to me.

Chorus:
You don’t have to be
Good enough
This love is for free
And it’s more than enough
I will be your strength
In all you say
In all you do
My love will make you good enough.

Verse2:
You don’t have to be capable
Just be available to follow where I lead
Whatever, whenever, wherever
Oh, you’ll never believe all the things you can do through me
So when the big world makes you feel small
Hold your head up high and walk tall
’cause this is where the good news begins.

Chorus

Bridge:
Blessed are the poor
They will inherit the earth
And the weak, in him you’ll find your true worth
He says come all you weary
Come get closer to me
You don’t have to be good enough.

(By the way, Anthony is a GIFTED artist and I recommend his CD “Letting Go” with a 5 out of 5 stars!)

Praise God!! I don’t have to be good enough!

2 Corinthians 12:9-10 (New International Version)

9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.  10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties.  For when I am weak, then I am am strong.

I’ve discovered that Papa gives me everything I need, but only when I need it. I must rely on His wisdom and trust in His lovingkindness and His continual, passionate pursuit of my heart. He knows what is best for me and is constantly working to mold me into the image of Christ.

So I will persevere and stand firm in my weakness. I will take each day as it comes – starting it on my face before Him – knowing I have no other option but to live in HIS will. When I am weak, then I am strong. As verse 7 says (New Living Translation) I will “…use the weapons of righteousness in the right hand for attack and the left hand for defense.”

Running After Papa…