Purposing

Galatians 1:10 (NLT) “Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant.”

Quick hit today.  Paul makes a pretty bold statement that – when I really let it sink in – has affected me in a much greater way.

“If I were worried about pleasing people – I wouldn’t be serving Christ!”

This tells me that “the approval of man” and “serving Christ” are mutually exclusive.  There is no cross over, gray area, or bleeding between the two. So I struggle with why then, in serving Christ, I (we) sometimes get the approval of man.  As I asked the Lord about it, He showed me that its because He loves people so much and often times those things I do in serving him, bless other people.  The important delineation is the motive behind what I do.  Why am I doing “ABC”; is it out of devotion and service to Christ – regardless of the accolades (or condemnation) I could receive from other people? Or is it in order to gain some accolade under the guise of “serving Christ”; to fill and satisfy my own selfish pride? It is something that cannot be seen or judged from the outside.  Motives rarely can.  It’s a total matter of the heart – as are most things concerning us and the Lord.

Jeremiah 17:9-10 (NLT) 9 “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things,and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? 10 But I, the Lord, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards,according to what their actions deserve

It is also has become obvious that “serving Christ” or “man’s approval” not “an event” or exercise.  Serving Christ or receiving men’s approval is a mindset, a lifestyle, an attitude of the heart, mind, will, and emotion.  It is what I purpose myself to do.  It encompasses my whole being, not just one part of me.  This is why salvation isn’t just a feeling, or a just a decision.  Salvation is complete surrender of everything I am to the lordship and control of Jesus Christ – my mind, my will, my emotions, my desires, my rights, and the list goes on in perpetuity – each item prefaced with the word “my”.

Psalm 139:23-24 (NKJV)
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me, and know my anxieties;
24 And see if there is any wicked way in me,
And lead me in the way everlasting.

Running After Papa…

Keep the fire burning

Lev 6:12-13 v13 “A fire shall always be burning on the altar; it shall never go out.“

The LORD makes it clear in Leviticus 6 that the fire on the altar is to continually be burning; it is never to go out. What does that mean for me as the priest of my house?

What does the fire represent? In my last post, “What a bloody mess!” I shared about how flippant and casual I know I’ve personally (and I believe the church as a whole has) taken confession and repentance.

With that thought as the backdrop, the question then becomes,”Is my (figurative) house such a place that confession and repentance is not only received, but encouraged and embraced?”

Am I leading my family to understand the holiness of God, the sanctity of confession to LORD, and the healing offered according to James 5:16 (“Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed…“)? Does the characteristic of my house invite sincere, deliberate, repentance?

Lord, teach me how to keep the fire lit on the altar. Show me how to be your priest in my household.

Running After Papa…

What a bloody mess!

Lev 1:3-9 (NKJV)
If his offering is a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish; he shall offer it of his own free will at the door of the tabernacle of meeting before the Lord. 4 Then he shall put his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him. 5 He shall kill the bull before the Lord; and the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall bring the blood and sprinkle the blood all around on the altar that is by the door of the tabernacle of meeting. 6 And he shall skin the burnt offering and cut it into its pieces. 7 The sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire on the altar, and lay the wood in order on the fire. 8 Then the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall lay the parts, the head, and the fat in order on the wood that is on the fire upon the altar; 9 but he shall wash its entrails and its legs with water. And the priest shall burn all on the altar as a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord.

What a bloody mess!

This is the second day in a row, I’ve read this passage and what jumped out of the text to me is the fact that each person bringing their sacrifice (be it a bull or a sheep) had to kill and skin and cut it into parts so that the priests can make the offering to the Lord on his behalf.

Here is what the offer-er was physically responsible for in the burnt offering:
– slaughtering the animal himself before the LORD (v5, v11)
– skinning the animal (v6)
– cutting it into pieces (v6, v12)
– wash the entrails (guts) and legs in water (v9, v13)

A sacrificial bullHave you ever slaughtered a bull… by hand… with a knife? As gross as it may be, can close your eyes and imagine that? Can you imagine what a mess that would be? Can you imagine skinning a bull by hand? How does one manage a dead carcass 3x or 4x his own body weight? Where would one wash the entrails and legs? I expect that meant hauling all those parts somewhere to wash them and hauling them back.

Here’s my point. A burnt offering wasn’t a quick prayer at the end of a 30 minute sermon. I expect it was no small feat or quick little ritual. I expect this was a quite long ordeal. I expect by the time one was done, he was probably covered in the blood of the sacrifice.

In our “everything gets wrapped up in a 30 TV show” culture, I fear we don’t have a grasp on what it means for us to be “covered by the blood of the sacrifice.” I know I don’t. Way too often, I treat confessing my sin much too lightly.

Christ suffered a long, painful, multiple hour ordeal when He became the sacrifice to atone for my sins.  Galatians 2:20 tells me that I’ve been crucified with Christ.  Have I killed my self in this crucifixion?   Have I labored hours over that sacrifice? Am I a bloody mess at the end of it?

I hope to be. I need to be…

Running After Papa…

Seriously?

If you read my blog, you know that I write to this blogsite to share the Word of God and what I’ve been reading. However, I’ve read something recently that I feel I need to post, and this seems like the right media for it. Bear with me on this post and I’ll get back to posting my regular topics soon….

Everyone should read this and pay close attention… I am in amazement that this is even being proposed and believed to be a “good” thing by anyone here in the US. I’ve listed a couple of links for finding/writing your senators and congressmen, should you feel so inclined…

To find your senator, click here.

To find your congressmen, click here.

This is a letter that an Indianapolis doctor’s letter to Sen. Bayh about the proposed Health Care reform Bill. It’s a pretty detailed dissection of the proposed legislation our current administration is trying to get through congress.

(Note: Dr. Stephen E. Fraser, MD practices as an anesthesiologist in Indianapolis , IN ) Here is a letter I sent to Senator Bayh. Feel free to copy it and send it around to all other representatives. — Stephen Fraser

July 23, 2009

Senator Bayh,

As a practicing physician I have major concerns with the health care bill before Congress. I actually have read the bill and am shocked by the brazenness of the government’s proposed involvement in the patient-physician relationship. The very idea that the government will dictate and ration patient care is dangerous and certainly not helpful in designing a health care system that works for all. Every physician I work with agrees that we need to fix our health care system, but the proposed bills currently making their way through congress will be a disaster if passed.

I ask you respectfully and as a patriotic American to look at the following troubling lines that I have read in the bill. You cannot possibly believe that these proposals are in the best interests of the country and our fellow citizens.

Page 22 of the HC Bill: Mandates that the Govt will audit books of all employers that self-insure!!

Page 30 Sec 123 of HC bill: THERE WILL BE A GOVT COMMITTEE that decides what treatments/benefits you get.

Page 29 lines 4-16 in the HC bill: YOUR HEALTH CARE IS RATIONED!!!

Page 42 of HC Bill: The Health Choices Commissioner will choose your HC benefits for you. You have no choice!

Page 50 Section 152 in HC bill: HC will be provided to ALL non-US citizens, illegal or otherwise.

Page 58 HC Bill: Govt will have real-time access to individuals’ finances & a ‘National ID Health card’ will be issued!

Page 59 HC Bill lines 21-24: Govt will have direct access to your bank accounts for elective funds transfer.

Page 65 Sec 164: Is a payoff subsidized plan for retirees and their families in unions & community organizations: (ACORN).

Page 84 Sec 203 HC bill: Govt mandates ALL benefit packages for private HC plans in the ‘Exchange.’

Page 85 Line 7 HC Bill: Specifications of Benefit Levels for Plans — The Govt will ration your health care!

Page 91 Lines 4-7 HC Bill: Govt mandates linguistic appropriate services. (Translation: illegal aliens.)

Page 95 HC Bill Lines 8-18: The Govt will use groups (i.e. ACORN & Americorps to sign up individuals for Govt HC plan.

Page 85 Line 7 HC Bill: Specifications of Benefit Levels for Plans. (AARP members – your health care WILL be rationed!)

Page 102 Lines 12-18 HC Bill: Medicaid eligible individuals will be automatically enrolled in Medicaid. (No choice.)

Page 12 4 lines 24-25 HC: No company can sue GOVT on price fixing. No judicial review” against Govt monopoly.

Page 127 Lines 1-16 HC Bill: Doctors/ American Medical Association – The Govt will tell YOU what salary you can make.

Page 145 Line 15-17: An Employer MUST auto-enroll employees into public option plan. (NO choice!)

Page 126 Lines 22-25: Employers MUST pay for HC for part-time employees AND their families. (Employees shouldn’t get excited about this as employers will be forced to reduce its work force, benefits, and wages/salaries to cover such a huge expense.)

Page 149 Lines 16-24: ANY Employer with payroll 401k & above who does not provide public option will pay 8% tax on all payroll! (See the last comment in parenthesis.)

Page 150 Lines 9-13: A business with payroll between $251K & $401K who doesn’t provide public option will pay 2-6% tax on all payroll.

Page 167 Lines 18-23: ANY individual who doesn’t have acceptable HC according to Govt will be taxed 2.5% of income.

Page 170 Lines 1-3 HC Bill: Any NONRESIDENT Alien is exempt from individual taxes. (Americans will pay.)

Page 195 HC Bill: Officers & employees of the GOVT HC Admin.. will have access to ALL Americans’ finances and personal records.

Page 203 Line 14-15 HC: “The tax imposed under this section shall not be treated as tax.” (Yes, it really says that!)

Page 239 Line 14-24 HC Bill: Govt will reduce physician services for Medicaid Seniors. (Low-income and the poor are affected.)

Page 241 Line 6-8 HC Bill: Doctors: It doesn’t matter what specialty you have trained yourself in — you will all be paid the same! (Just TRY to tell me that’s not Socialism!)

Page 253 Line 10-18: The Govt sets the value of a doctor’s time, profession, judgment, etc. (Literally– the value of humans.)

Page 265 Sec 1131: The Govt mandates and controls productivity for “private” HC industries.

Page 268 Sec 1141: The federal Govt regulates the rental and purchase of power driven wheelchairs.

Page 272 SEC. 1145: TREATMENT OF CERTAIN CANCER HOSPITALS – Cancer patients – welcome to rationing!

Page 280 Sec 1151: The Govt will penalize hospitals for whatever the Govt deems preventable (i.e…re-admissions).

Page 298 Lines 9-11: Doctors: If you treat a patient during initial admission that results in a re-admission — the Govt will penalize you.

Page 317 L 13-20: PROHIBITION on ownership/investment. (The Govt tells doctors what and how much they can own!)

Page 317-318 lines 21-25, 1-3: PROHIBITION on expansion. (The Govt is mandating that hospitals cannot expand.)

Page 321 2-13: Hospitals have the opportunity to apply for exception BUT community input is required. (Can you say ACORN?)

Page 335 L 16-25 Pg 336-339: The Govt mandates establishment of=2 outcome-based measures. (HC the way they want — rationing.)

Page 341 Lines 3-9: The Govt has authority to disqualify Medicare Advance Plans, HMOs, etc. (Forcing people into the Govt plan)

Page 354 Sec 1177: The Govt will RESTRICT enrollment of ‘special needs people!’ Unbelievable!

Page 379 Sec 1191: The Govt creates more bureaucracy via a “Tele-Health Advisory Committee.” (Can you say HC by phone?)

Page 425 Lines 4-12: The Govt mandates “Advance-Care Planning Consult.” (Think senior citizens end-of-life patients.)

Page 425 Lines 17-19: The Govt will instruct and consult regarding living wills, durable powers of attorney, etc. (And it’s mandatory!)

Page 425 Lines 22-25, 426 Lines 1-3: The Govt provides an “approved” list of end-of-life resources; & nbsp;guiding you in death.. (Also called ‘assisted suicide.’)

Page 427 Lines 15-24: The Govt mandates a program for orders on “end-of-life.” (The Govt has a say in how your life ends!)

Page 429 Lines 1-9: An “advanced-care planning consultant” will be used frequently as a patient’s health deteriorates.

Page 429 Lines 10-12: An “advanced care consultation” may include an ORDER for end-of-life plans. (AN ORDER TO DIE FROM THE GOVERNMENT?!?)

Page 429 Lines 13-25: The GOVT will specify which doctors can write an end-of-life order. (I wouldn’t want to stand before God after getting paid for THAT job!)

Page 430 Lines 11-15: The Govt will decide what level of treatment you will have at end-of-life! (Again — no choice!)

Page 469: Community-Based Home Medical Services = Non-Profit Organizations. (Hello? ACORN Medical Services here!?!)

Page 489 Sec 1308: The Govt will cover marriage and family therapy. (Which means Govt will insert itself into your marriage.)

Page 494-498: Govt will cover Mental Health Services including defining, creating, and rationing those services.

Senator, I guarantee that I personally will do everything possible to inform patients and my fellow physicians about the dangers of the proposed bills you and your colleagues are debating.

Furthermore, if you vote for a bill that enforces socialized medicine on the country and destroys the doctor-patient relationship, I will do everything in my power to make sure you lose your job in the next election.

Respectfully,

Stephen E. Fraser, MD

… Running After Papa

Molded Images

Isreal has been freed from Egypt.  God has met wth Moses and given him what we call the Ten Commandments.  While he’s gone, the Isrealites go back to what they know – remember they’ve spent 400 years in Egypt where there were gods-o-plenty and graven images everywhere.  They have Aaron make a golden calf and start worshipping it as if it was God.  Moses comes down after convincing the LORD not to destroy them all and breaks the stone tables God had written in. Here we see the LORD renewing his covenant with Isreal where he makes the following statement:

Ex 34:17 (NKJV) “You shall make no molded gods for yourselves.”

Exodus 20:3 – one of the ten commandments – commands Israel to have no other gods before the LORD.  Perhaps they were just making an image of what they would call the LORD so they could see it and worship it.  This time the LORD is a bit more specific.  He didn’t want them to make ANY image – of him or otherwise – to bow down to and worship.

Why?

The Lord put in my heart when I read this passage that He doesn’t want any image of him, because he doesn’t want you or me or Israel to put him in a box.  When I define God by the finite things I know, I limit Him in what I can receive from him or what He wants to do either IN me or THROUGH me.  He wants to remain “undefined” (sort of) in that I cannot imagine his form or ability.  He wants me to understand his nature and his character because he wants me to trust him and know that He loves me and is for me, even though I can’t get the my feeble, finite mind around his unlimited, unimaginable, unconceivable-by-the-human-mind essence and power.

So Papa I repent of every imagination and conception I have of you.  Forgive me for trying to define who you are and what you will do.  Open my eyes to see your hand at work in my life and in the lives of those around me and enlargen my faith to walk more obediently to your beckoning.  I believe Lord, help my unbelief.  I don’t want to serve a God I can understand.  I want to worship the God who AWES me with his mighty, miraculous works and displays of greatness that are “exceedingly abundantly more than I can think or imagine.”  In Jesus’ name, Amen!

Running After Papa…

Anger

12 In that day you will say:
“I will praise you, O Lord.
Although you were angry with me,
your anger has turned away
and you have comforted me.
2 Surely God is my salvation;
I will trust and not be afraid.
The Lord, the Lord, is my strength and my song;
he has become my salvation.”
3 With joy you will draw water
from the wells of salvation.
4 In that day you will say:
“Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name;
make known among the nations what he has done,
and proclaim that his name is exalted.
5 Sing to the Lord, for he has done glorious things;
let this be known to all the world.
6 Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion,
for great is the Holy One of Israel among you.”
The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.) (Is 12:1-6). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

I’m reading through the book of James with another group of men in preparation for a Quest next week, but this morning, before I read my chapter in James, Papa had me turn to Isaiah 12.  I like this passage a lot!  As a songwriter, I think it would be a great worship song and am working on it!  But that’s not the direction Papa took me this morning.  I got really hung up in verse 1.

I have an NIV/The Message parallel Bible that lets me view the passages side by side and here is verse 1 in The Message version.

12 And you will say in that day,
“I thank you, God.
You were angry
but your anger wasn’t forever.
You withdrew your anger
and moved in and comforted me.
Peterson, E. H. (2002). The Message : The Bible in contemporary language (Is 12:1). Colorado Springs, Colo.: NavPress.

The last line is what caught my eye.  “You withdrew your anger and moved in and comforted me.”

God has modeled the process for anger.  He has modeled forgiveness – even outside of the gospel of Christ.  Anger is active.  Forgiveness active.

First off, Isaiah says that God’s anger wasn’t forever.  God made a decision that the anger wasn’t eternal (Thank you Lord!) and that he was choosing to forgive.  That’s the first step is the decision.

“…withdrew your anger…” – this is an active verb – to withdraw means “to take back or away”; “to remove from use”; “to remove from a place of deposit”

This implies that we put our anger somewhere; we deposit it and keep it in some place of use.  Where is that place?

24 Make no friendship with a man given to anger,
nor go with a wrathful man,
25 lest you learn his ways
and entangle yourself in a snare.

The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001 (Pr 22:24-25). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

Proverbs 22:24-25 says “…lest you learn his ways…”  Our soul is made up of three parts: the mind, the will, and the emotions.  Anger is an emotion. That place we deposit anger is in the soul, it only makes sense that we process it from there (decision to release the anger – to withdraw the anger – actively)

What is anger all about?

  • Why do I get angry? Why am I angry?
  • Who am I angry at?
  • What am I angry about?
  • How long have I been angry?  How long do I plan to stay angry?

When I begin to process these questions, I find that the MAJORITY of the time, my anger is about me and something in my life not going the way I think it should – rightly or not rightly so.  I get angry because someone, some thing, or some something steps on, inhibits, refuses, hinders or ignores my rights, my feelings, my opportunities, my character or whatever.

There are cases of righteous anger (see John 2:13-17 when Jesus cleared the temple of the corruption in his Father’s house) and while they are righteous, they still cannot last forever.  Righteous anger needs to be processed as well.

But for the non-righteous anger – which for me is the majority of the anger I deal with – God follows the pattern of Is 12:1.

After God decides to withdraw his anger, the next part of the verse says “…you [God] moved in and comforted me…”

Is this not exactly the Gospel message?  God moved in – he became flesh and moved to earth to be crucified, buried and resurrected so that he could restore us to right relationship with God the Father (John 3:16).  God comforts us – He  is the God of Comfort (2 Cor 1:3-7)

Obviously, this could become a very long post, so for the sake of brevity, ask yourself the questions above.  Ask Papa if you’re harboring any anger and how to actively decide and withdraw your anger.  Ask Him what it looks like to move in and comfort the one you are angry at.

The book of James says if we lack wisdom, all we have to do is ask and He’ll give it freely (James 1:5-6).

Running After Papa…

God has a plan

Reinhard Bonnke spoke at my church this weekend.  During his talk, I wrote down just one statement.  Four simple words.   Find out what they were by reading my Examiner.com article…

If I believe God is personally interested in my life, then how I live my life is much more in a state of dependency.

I sometimes forget the very life-impacting point of those four words… God – has – a – plan.  God’s plan for my life is planned in every detail.

God is not surprised by any circumstance that comes into my life.  God – is – NOT – caught – off – guard.  Let that sink in….

God is not caught off guard or surprised just because I am.  That is very reassuring.  It allows me to trust Him more.

Famous Moses

Exodus 33:12-17 (NKJV)
12 Then Moses said to the Lord, “See, You say to me, ‘Bring up this people.’ But You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found grace in My sight.’ 13 Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people.”
14 And He said, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”
15 Then he said to Him, “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. 16 For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us? So we shall be separate, Your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth.”
17 So the Lord said to Moses, “I will also do this thing that you have spoken; for you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name.”

This is an interesting dialogue between God and Moses. Moses is entirely focused on this group of people he’s led out of Egypt. Moses tries to dovetail the nation into the relationship and grace he has received from the Lord. He wants them to receive the same benefits, blessings, and to experience the same relationship he’s experiencing with the Lord. Moses wants this for the people – even after the whole Golden Calf incident… in fact, that has JUST happened and Moses is about to go get the replacement commandments made in the next chapter.

Again, Moses wants this for the people… “And consider that this nation is Your people.”

The LORD’s response is always in reference to Moses’s relationship with him – not mentioning the nation’s relationship. “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” (v14)

Moses’s immediate response is repeating and emphasizing “…with us”.   Again, focused on the benefits and the relationship of the people.

The LORD acquiesces and says that he will bless THEM simply because MOSES has found grace in His sight and because the LORD knows MOSES by name. (v17) God is going to grant Moses’s request, simply based on Moses, not the people.

Question: Does this imply that there are some the LORD doesn’t know?

“by name” is the word shem and it literally could say “I know you because of your fame and renown and reputation...” it means as a memorial or a monument.

Wow! To have the LORD say he knows you because of your fame? That’s crazy!

Back to verse 16, I love this verse! I’m putting it in my “Verses to Memorize” document – (yes, I actually have one!)

16 For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? Is it not in your going with us, so that we are distinct, I and your people, from every other people on the face of the earth?”

The idea behind “found favor” is that of falling upon, encountering, getting – but by no merit of my own. “Favor” is “grace, charm, elegance, acceptance, wellfavoured”.  Moses is saying “God – how will other know that you decided to love us, to give us favor and see us as elegant – cause we certainly didn’t do anything to deserve it!”

That word distinct means “to be distinct, be separated, be distinguished. to be wonderful.”

Take Aways:

  1. What is my reputation with God? Would God grant special favor to other people – because they are with me and I asked him to – because He knows me “by name”?
  2. Who am I trying to bring along with me in my walk with the Lord? Is my walk worth bringing others along with? Who am I bringing up in the LORD? Am I continually looking and watching over others or am I continually focused just “me” when it comes to God’s blessing, annointing and relationship?

I don’t think I quite really get and understand what kind of man Moses was….

Running After Papa….

Adam and Eve and the Bride of Christ

God warned us this was going to happen!  (First half of this thought is here: http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-25068-Fort-Worth-Christian-Examiner~y2009m10d8-Adam-and-Eve-and-the-Bride-of-Christ)

God said that the woman’s (implied wife) desire would be to control her husband.  That’s a frightening thought to think that I (we, the Big-C Church) have not only desired to control our husband (Christ) but many have made an all out attempt for a mutiny!  God help us.

Where has it led us?  To exactly the lives, lifestyles, and statistics as those who are not part of the church.  In very few instances is the church making any social impact.  Don’t get me wrong, there are some amazing churches out there.

But here’s the deal.  God did not send Jesus to die for us so that we could be collected together in a building once or twice a week and systematically programmed to respond to musical styles, oratory excellence, or really-hip and relevant talks.

The Acts 2 church impacted the society around it just by LIVING LIFE IN THE SPIRIT.  They were still going to the synagogues and services that existed before Christ came… so it wasn’t about the church building or the service! (See Acts 2:46)

No… church isn’t about buildings – although they have their place; isn’t about programs – although they can serve a purpose; isn’t about services – although they can certainly help…  I’m not even sure when I say “church” that I have a correct picture in my head of what it really is….  This may take some mulling on….

Running After Papa…