This is something I recorded this past Sunday, August 14, 2011.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Bible Study, November 23, 2008
Bible Study, November 23, 2008
Matthew 13:18
Jesus explains the Parable of the Sower to His disciples; He later explains the parable of the Tares. When they ask, He expounds (though He does not do so for the multitudes).
Vs 19 - Though we perceive information with our mind, Jesus says the Word falls on the heart. The heart is where decisions are made and where faith operates, not with the mind. (See Vs 15: “understand with their heart”)
“...in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” 2 Corinthians 4:4
Vs 20-21 - WHEN, not “if” affliction arises because of the WORD (not because you’re a jerk or are trying to force people to be like you).
- Note: Sometimes we are caused to stumble by situations we don’t understand. Sometimes God doesn’t seem to make sense. Jesus isn’t talking about a person who questions God (like Job, Abraham, Moses, David, Elijah, and many prophets did), but a person who falls completely away from faith because of adverse circumstances.
Vs 22 - Discuss: What is the “worry of the age?” What is the “deceitfulness of riches?”
- These things render the Word unfruitful in our lives.
- The worry of the world/age refers to personal worries, family worries, national worries, whatever vies for our attention and causes us to fear. These are the “thorns” which entered the world as a result of sin. (Political parties in the recent election, for example, used fear as a motivating factor in trying to get you to vote for a certain candidate. The current economic crisis is a “worry of the age.”)
- The deceitfulness of riches refers to the spiritual apathy that results when people live to pursue wealth. They have passed from the “worry of the age” to believing a lie about the security of money. This chokes the Word as much as care did. (Sodom and Gomorrah were wealthy, God warned the Israelites that they would grow apathetic when they entered the Promised Land and built homes and grew vineyards, the Laodicean church said they were “rich and increased with goods” and yet the Lord was outside of their fellowship.)
Vs 23 - 100, 60, 30 - percentages of increase.
Vs 24 - A second parable comparing the Word of God to “seed.” In the Sower, Jesus discussed oppositions to the Word that come at a personal level, and have to do with personal choice. Here He discusses opposition on a larger scale, as an enemy faction that seeks to destroy the purposes of God.
- Genesis 1:29-31 Then God said, I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food. And it was so. God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.
- “Good seed,” is pure seed, with other kinds of seed removed. It is the Gospel without mixture, the Truth given in Love.
- Truly, truly I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains by itself alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. - John 12:24
Vs 25 - While men were sleeping - an allusion to the failure in the Garden of Eden. Are we sleeping? Are we at ease when we should be on watch (1 Peter 5:8)? The enemy comes when we are off-guard.
- “his enemy” - This speaks of a subtle, concentrated effort against the Lord as Creator.
- Q: Can Satan uproot a believer? A: Absolutely not. He can only attempt to frustrate you through his agents, the “tares.”
- “tares” - probably darnel rye, a poisonous weed, whose roots became entangled with the roots of the wheat
- “wheat” - Wheat was essential to making bread, which was a staple food in Jesus’ time.
Vs 26 - As the wheat from the “good seed” is growing, the tares become evident.
- Q: How do “tares” manifest themselves in the world around you?
A: In poisonous people. (Unequal yokes, vindictive, angry or wounded people, false teachers/prophets, people who are unwitting intermediaries for the evil one; 2 Tim. 2:26.)
Vs 27 - Q: Have you ever been tangled in someone else’s mess? Have you ever questioned the Landowner?
- Q: What would happen if God always quickly uprooted every thing and person in your life who caused you difficulty?
A: There would be no opportunity to learn faithfulness and maturity. Even Satan in the Garden had his purpose.
- God will uproot the weeds in His time.
Vs 28-30 - “First the tares.” At the point where the wheat and darnel were budding, the buds of darnel would be removed and burned to prevent re-infestation or mixture into the harvested wheat. The tares are removed while the wheat remains.
- Now we are obscured, but the day will come when the sons of God will shine with the brilliant reflected light of their Father. (Romans 8:19)
Vs 31, 32 - A third parable concerning a seed. Note: a seed. One. Small in the eyes of the world, but of greatest significance to the believer’s heart.
- Q: Are you minute, small? When Jesus fed the 5,000, how much did they have on hand to complete the task?
A: The point of this parable is that it doesn’t matter how little you have. What matters is where you place what you have, Who your faith is in.
- It “becomes a tree,” mutates, grows to immense proportions related to its beginning. (Cf. Psalm 1 - “a tree planted by the rivers of water,” and elsewhere (Isaiah?), “trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord.”)
- “the birds of the air” - a reference to the Gentiles being grafted into God’s plan, but also to the fact that our experience and growth in the Lord provides rest, shelter, and comfort to others.
Vs 33 - Leaven is usually a symbol of sin in the Bible (Galatians 5:9: A little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough.), but here Jesus uses leaven positively. Each of the three “seed” parables had to do with a man. This parable is about a woman, a wife performing her normal function in making bread.
- The “woman” symbolizes service and submission.
- “Three measures” of meal symbolizes impartation to the whole life: body, soul and spirit.
- “hid” (For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. Colossians 3:3)
- Point: it takes a small amount of yeast to affect a large amount of flour.
- This is a picture of putting faith into action. It is not enough to simply hear the Word. We must take practical steps to receive the truth into our lives.
Vs 34, 35 - Parables reveal truth to those who are open to receive it, but hide truth from the hard-hearted.
Vs 36: - If Jesus’ disciples didn’t understand, odds are the multitude didn’t understand, either.
- Q: Would Jesus have explained this further if He hadn’t been asked?
- Q: Do you have any particular passage of Scripture that troubles you because you don’t understand what it means? What is your attitude when you encounter difficult truths? Do we ask?
Vs 37: Jesus doesn’t rebuke them, but unfolds the parable to them plainly.
Vs 38-43
Vs 44: - Q: Have you ever found a valuable item (jewelry or money) in a public place?
- “a treasure hidden” (Colossians 2:2 “...Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”)
- People buried valuable possessions in Bible times to protect them from theft. (Do not lay up for yourselves upon earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. - Mt. 6:19). This parable is a first-century version of winning the lottery. The text implies the man found the treasure by accident. He recognized its value, and was willing to part with everything else in his life in order to gain possession of it. Do we value the Lord?
- Revelation 3:18 - I advise you to buy of Me gold refined by fire, that you may become rich, and white garments, that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes, that you may see.
Vs 45-46 - Pearls were not farmed in Jesus’ day as they are now. There was no diving equipment. Pearls were extremely rare and difficult to find, and were therefore immensely valuable.
- The merchant is “seeking.” Where the man in the field found his treasure by accident, the merchant is intent on finding something of great value.
- Psalm 27:4 - One thing I have asked from the LORD, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to meditate in His temple.
- Everyone is seeking “goodly pearls.” (Wealth, health, education, jobs, homes, etc.) But Jesus is the pearl of great price.
- Q: What am I seeking?
Vs 47-50 - A dragnet is pulled along the bottom of the water, and picks up everything. Separation comes at the end. (A similar point as the parable of the Tares.)
Vs 51 - Q: Is it possible that the disciples fully understood “all these things?”
Vs 52 - This is a perfect summary of the kind of teaching Jesus has been giving them: timeless truths delivered in fresh ways, treasures new and old.
- “the head of a household” refers to a man paying for services regarding the affairs of the house, keeping the treasure safe until it is needed. He brings out some of last year’s dried fruit or wine, and some of this year’s grain for the benefit of visitors. He would not, like the scribes of Jesus’ day, use his treasure (knowledge) for power and prestige.
Vs 53-58 - Jesus returns to Nazareth (where He was once rejected); this was His last stop in his hometown during His lifetime.
- Jesus was in no way limited or powerless because the Nazarenes didn’t believe in Him. He “did not many miracles there” because miracles are of no value unless people have faith. Miracles will not change unbelieving people’s minds.
Matthew 13:18
Jesus explains the Parable of the Sower to His disciples; He later explains the parable of the Tares. When they ask, He expounds (though He does not do so for the multitudes).
Vs 19 - Though we perceive information with our mind, Jesus says the Word falls on the heart. The heart is where decisions are made and where faith operates, not with the mind. (See Vs 15: “understand with their heart”)
“...in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” 2 Corinthians 4:4
Vs 20-21 - WHEN, not “if” affliction arises because of the WORD (not because you’re a jerk or are trying to force people to be like you).
- Note: Sometimes we are caused to stumble by situations we don’t understand. Sometimes God doesn’t seem to make sense. Jesus isn’t talking about a person who questions God (like Job, Abraham, Moses, David, Elijah, and many prophets did), but a person who falls completely away from faith because of adverse circumstances.
Vs 22 - Discuss: What is the “worry of the age?” What is the “deceitfulness of riches?”
- These things render the Word unfruitful in our lives.
- The worry of the world/age refers to personal worries, family worries, national worries, whatever vies for our attention and causes us to fear. These are the “thorns” which entered the world as a result of sin. (Political parties in the recent election, for example, used fear as a motivating factor in trying to get you to vote for a certain candidate. The current economic crisis is a “worry of the age.”)
- The deceitfulness of riches refers to the spiritual apathy that results when people live to pursue wealth. They have passed from the “worry of the age” to believing a lie about the security of money. This chokes the Word as much as care did. (Sodom and Gomorrah were wealthy, God warned the Israelites that they would grow apathetic when they entered the Promised Land and built homes and grew vineyards, the Laodicean church said they were “rich and increased with goods” and yet the Lord was outside of their fellowship.)
Vs 23 - 100, 60, 30 - percentages of increase.
Vs 24 - A second parable comparing the Word of God to “seed.” In the Sower, Jesus discussed oppositions to the Word that come at a personal level, and have to do with personal choice. Here He discusses opposition on a larger scale, as an enemy faction that seeks to destroy the purposes of God.
- Genesis 1:29-31 Then God said, I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food. And it was so. God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.
- “Good seed,” is pure seed, with other kinds of seed removed. It is the Gospel without mixture, the Truth given in Love.
- Truly, truly I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains by itself alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. - John 12:24
Vs 25 - While men were sleeping - an allusion to the failure in the Garden of Eden. Are we sleeping? Are we at ease when we should be on watch (1 Peter 5:8)? The enemy comes when we are off-guard.
- “his enemy” - This speaks of a subtle, concentrated effort against the Lord as Creator.
- Q: Can Satan uproot a believer? A: Absolutely not. He can only attempt to frustrate you through his agents, the “tares.”
- “tares” - probably darnel rye, a poisonous weed, whose roots became entangled with the roots of the wheat
- “wheat” - Wheat was essential to making bread, which was a staple food in Jesus’ time.
Vs 26 - As the wheat from the “good seed” is growing, the tares become evident.
- Q: How do “tares” manifest themselves in the world around you?
A: In poisonous people. (Unequal yokes, vindictive, angry or wounded people, false teachers/prophets, people who are unwitting intermediaries for the evil one; 2 Tim. 2:26.)
Vs 27 - Q: Have you ever been tangled in someone else’s mess? Have you ever questioned the Landowner?
- Q: What would happen if God always quickly uprooted every thing and person in your life who caused you difficulty?
A: There would be no opportunity to learn faithfulness and maturity. Even Satan in the Garden had his purpose.
- God will uproot the weeds in His time.
Vs 28-30 - “First the tares.” At the point where the wheat and darnel were budding, the buds of darnel would be removed and burned to prevent re-infestation or mixture into the harvested wheat. The tares are removed while the wheat remains.
- Now we are obscured, but the day will come when the sons of God will shine with the brilliant reflected light of their Father. (Romans 8:19)
Vs 31, 32 - A third parable concerning a seed. Note: a seed. One. Small in the eyes of the world, but of greatest significance to the believer’s heart.
- Q: Are you minute, small? When Jesus fed the 5,000, how much did they have on hand to complete the task?
A: The point of this parable is that it doesn’t matter how little you have. What matters is where you place what you have, Who your faith is in.
- It “becomes a tree,” mutates, grows to immense proportions related to its beginning. (Cf. Psalm 1 - “a tree planted by the rivers of water,” and elsewhere (Isaiah?), “trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord.”)
- “the birds of the air” - a reference to the Gentiles being grafted into God’s plan, but also to the fact that our experience and growth in the Lord provides rest, shelter, and comfort to others.
Vs 33 - Leaven is usually a symbol of sin in the Bible (Galatians 5:9: A little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough.), but here Jesus uses leaven positively. Each of the three “seed” parables had to do with a man. This parable is about a woman, a wife performing her normal function in making bread.
- The “woman” symbolizes service and submission.
- “Three measures” of meal symbolizes impartation to the whole life: body, soul and spirit.
- “hid” (For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. Colossians 3:3)
- Point: it takes a small amount of yeast to affect a large amount of flour.
- This is a picture of putting faith into action. It is not enough to simply hear the Word. We must take practical steps to receive the truth into our lives.
Vs 34, 35 - Parables reveal truth to those who are open to receive it, but hide truth from the hard-hearted.
Vs 36: - If Jesus’ disciples didn’t understand, odds are the multitude didn’t understand, either.
- Q: Would Jesus have explained this further if He hadn’t been asked?
- Q: Do you have any particular passage of Scripture that troubles you because you don’t understand what it means? What is your attitude when you encounter difficult truths? Do we ask?
Vs 37: Jesus doesn’t rebuke them, but unfolds the parable to them plainly.
Vs 38-43
Vs 44: - Q: Have you ever found a valuable item (jewelry or money) in a public place?
- “a treasure hidden” (Colossians 2:2 “...Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”)
- People buried valuable possessions in Bible times to protect them from theft. (Do not lay up for yourselves upon earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. - Mt. 6:19). This parable is a first-century version of winning the lottery. The text implies the man found the treasure by accident. He recognized its value, and was willing to part with everything else in his life in order to gain possession of it. Do we value the Lord?
- Revelation 3:18 - I advise you to buy of Me gold refined by fire, that you may become rich, and white garments, that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes, that you may see.
Vs 45-46 - Pearls were not farmed in Jesus’ day as they are now. There was no diving equipment. Pearls were extremely rare and difficult to find, and were therefore immensely valuable.
- The merchant is “seeking.” Where the man in the field found his treasure by accident, the merchant is intent on finding something of great value.
- Psalm 27:4 - One thing I have asked from the LORD, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to meditate in His temple.
- Everyone is seeking “goodly pearls.” (Wealth, health, education, jobs, homes, etc.) But Jesus is the pearl of great price.
- Q: What am I seeking?
Vs 47-50 - A dragnet is pulled along the bottom of the water, and picks up everything. Separation comes at the end. (A similar point as the parable of the Tares.)
Vs 51 - Q: Is it possible that the disciples fully understood “all these things?”
Vs 52 - This is a perfect summary of the kind of teaching Jesus has been giving them: timeless truths delivered in fresh ways, treasures new and old.
- “the head of a household” refers to a man paying for services regarding the affairs of the house, keeping the treasure safe until it is needed. He brings out some of last year’s dried fruit or wine, and some of this year’s grain for the benefit of visitors. He would not, like the scribes of Jesus’ day, use his treasure (knowledge) for power and prestige.
Vs 53-58 - Jesus returns to Nazareth (where He was once rejected); this was His last stop in his hometown during His lifetime.
- Jesus was in no way limited or powerless because the Nazarenes didn’t believe in Him. He “did not many miracles there” because miracles are of no value unless people have faith. Miracles will not change unbelieving people’s minds.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Saturday, August 16, 2008
The Bentley Affair
Todd Bentley and his wife have separated in the wake of what the Fresh Fire Board of Directors have called "an unhealthy relationship on an emotional level with a female member of his staff."
From ReligionNewsBlog.com:
J. Lee Grady, editor of Charisma, a magazine for Pentecostals based in Orlando, said Tuesday the news of Bentley’s marital troubles would likely further polarize those following the revival.
“A large segment of the movement has been skeptical from day one. They’re going to see this as a natural progression. Others who have been following Todd are going to be spiritually shipwrecked. We’ve most definitely seen through this revival a lot of people are not grounded in Scripture, so for them, it won’t be an issue,” he said.
Other interesting viewpoints expressed here.
From ReligionNewsBlog.com:
J. Lee Grady, editor of Charisma, a magazine for Pentecostals based in Orlando, said Tuesday the news of Bentley’s marital troubles would likely further polarize those following the revival.
“A large segment of the movement has been skeptical from day one. They’re going to see this as a natural progression. Others who have been following Todd are going to be spiritually shipwrecked. We’ve most definitely seen through this revival a lot of people are not grounded in Scripture, so for them, it won’t be an issue,” he said.
Other interesting viewpoints expressed here.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Hebrews 2:17, 18; 4:15
Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.
For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.
For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
1 Timothy 4:13-16
Until I come, give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching. Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you, which was bestowed on you through prophetic utterance with the laying on of hands by the presbytery. Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all. Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
1 John 3:16
We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Dream, 6-22-08
I have had prophetic dreams in the past, by which I mean I’ve dreamed about future events that have taken place. In one case, I dreamed a teenaged girl I was working with had an accident on the road and flipped her car. The next day I told her I’d dreamed about her and we both laughed. When she left work I said, joking, “Be careful on them roads, wild girl.” She called about a half hour later to tell me my dream had come true.
Earlier in my life, when I was about 15, I dreamed about two women who attended my parents’ church. In the dream they murdered my parents, put their flesh in a stew, and began eating it. They stood over the big boiling pot like witches over a cauldron, stirring constantly. (No doubt the recipe for boiled preacher calls for constant stirring...ha ha ha.) I told my father about the dream and he said, “That is from the Lord.” At the time these two women were gossiping and stirring up a lot of trouble in the church, brazenly declaring their superior spirituality. They caused a tremendous rift and many in the church left as a result.
Another time I dreamed that my family suddenly had to move away from our favorite home in Southern Maryland. I told my parents about the dream. A week later, my mother told me my dream was coming true, as we were going to have to move. (To Delaware, as it turned out.)
I don’t talk much about things like this because the church--and I mean especially Pentecostal and Charismatic churches, here--is so far off track as far as God’s Word is concerned that they mistake things like this for spirituality, or place visions, dreams, angelic visitations, gold fillings and mystical experiences in higher regard than they should be placed. People erroneously (and sometimes subconsciously) think we need two or three dramatic confirmations about things God has already declared. And they forget that God will allow a “false word” or a lying prophet to show up to prove His people: that’s why a story found in 1 Kings 13 has always fascinated me.
Anyway, last night I slept with the kids in a tent we’d purchased to go camping in. (We set it up this weekend for a kind of dry run, just to be sure we know how to set up a tent and sleep in it before we get somewhere else and realize we’re idiots.) Before I went to sleep I was thinking about Jacob at Bethel, on the lam, sleeping in the open air with a rock for a pillow when he saw the vision of the angels ascending and descending the ladder.
The Dream
In the early morning hours, I had this dream:
Our church’s former assistant pastor was officiating a service at our church. I was sitting in the back, not really participating in any of the events taking place (like normal). Presently I became aware of a serious disturbance outside the sanctuary and rushed into the hallway. When I got to the hallway, all was dark and quiet. The doors in the hallway were closed. I opened the door of the nursery (the first door on the left), and there were several dead men on the floor, face-down. I could see the blueness of their necks and hands, and blood blossoming out from wounds underneath their fallen frames.
I closed the door and went back to the sanctuary. When the assistant pastor stepped off the podium and began to take a seat, I went over to him and put my hand on his shoulder. I told him softly, “I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but all your brothers are dead.”
He was visibly moved and at the point of tears as we walked to the nursery together and I opened the door. But the dead men had changed to several children I recognized from the church. They were lying in the same way, face-down, and they were dead, but also hogtied and gagged.
When I awoke, the picture of bondage and death in the dream left me feeling a little freaked out, but the meaning seemed obvious. I’m not sure what, if anything, God’s trying to tell me with it, considering it’s old news.
The Meaning
This would be clear to anyone who knows the history and current situation at our church, but I figured I'd offer a few lines about the symbolism of this dream.
The assistant pastor of our church was appointed and dismissed from service under dubious circumstances, without the blessing or input of the congregation or any communication whatsoever before the events occurred. He was not even a member of the church before being placed in his "pastorhood," which caused offense from the very start. This put him in a difficult position, and he often felt isolated and unsupported. He left as quickly as he came, causing many hearts (including mine) to grieve and question how his situation was handled from start to finish. He was a central figure in my dream.
Over a year ago, a men's group was started at our church with the understanding that the men were disconnected and inactive as members of our church. We felt that something needed to be done to rectify this problem: men needed to be unified to do the work of the Kingdom together, to lead and direct the spiritual pursuits of their families and the church. Consequently, questions were raised about how the former assistant pastor came to be placed in his position, how he came to leave it so quickly, and how our church chooses leaders to begin with. Questions were also raised about the role of women in church (though it was obvious that the role of MEN in church was the first thing to be worked out). As these two issues were confronted, a disintegration occurred, and the Word of God proved to be the dividing line.
The men were face-down in the nursery, bleeding; these were the "brothers" who were dead. The nursery symbolizes a place where new life learns to function, where little kids play, build things, fall down, laugh and cry. In this formative place, at the cusp of a world of new discovery, the men were wounded and silenced.
On the second visit to the nursery, the men had turned into children from the church. This speaks of the effect the silence, wounding, and demonic resistance toward men as leaders has on the next generation.
Earlier in my life, when I was about 15, I dreamed about two women who attended my parents’ church. In the dream they murdered my parents, put their flesh in a stew, and began eating it. They stood over the big boiling pot like witches over a cauldron, stirring constantly. (No doubt the recipe for boiled preacher calls for constant stirring...ha ha ha.) I told my father about the dream and he said, “That is from the Lord.” At the time these two women were gossiping and stirring up a lot of trouble in the church, brazenly declaring their superior spirituality. They caused a tremendous rift and many in the church left as a result.
Another time I dreamed that my family suddenly had to move away from our favorite home in Southern Maryland. I told my parents about the dream. A week later, my mother told me my dream was coming true, as we were going to have to move. (To Delaware, as it turned out.)
I don’t talk much about things like this because the church--and I mean especially Pentecostal and Charismatic churches, here--is so far off track as far as God’s Word is concerned that they mistake things like this for spirituality, or place visions, dreams, angelic visitations, gold fillings and mystical experiences in higher regard than they should be placed. People erroneously (and sometimes subconsciously) think we need two or three dramatic confirmations about things God has already declared. And they forget that God will allow a “false word” or a lying prophet to show up to prove His people: that’s why a story found in 1 Kings 13 has always fascinated me.
Anyway, last night I slept with the kids in a tent we’d purchased to go camping in. (We set it up this weekend for a kind of dry run, just to be sure we know how to set up a tent and sleep in it before we get somewhere else and realize we’re idiots.) Before I went to sleep I was thinking about Jacob at Bethel, on the lam, sleeping in the open air with a rock for a pillow when he saw the vision of the angels ascending and descending the ladder.
The Dream
In the early morning hours, I had this dream:
Our church’s former assistant pastor was officiating a service at our church. I was sitting in the back, not really participating in any of the events taking place (like normal). Presently I became aware of a serious disturbance outside the sanctuary and rushed into the hallway. When I got to the hallway, all was dark and quiet. The doors in the hallway were closed. I opened the door of the nursery (the first door on the left), and there were several dead men on the floor, face-down. I could see the blueness of their necks and hands, and blood blossoming out from wounds underneath their fallen frames.
I closed the door and went back to the sanctuary. When the assistant pastor stepped off the podium and began to take a seat, I went over to him and put my hand on his shoulder. I told him softly, “I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but all your brothers are dead.”
He was visibly moved and at the point of tears as we walked to the nursery together and I opened the door. But the dead men had changed to several children I recognized from the church. They were lying in the same way, face-down, and they were dead, but also hogtied and gagged.
When I awoke, the picture of bondage and death in the dream left me feeling a little freaked out, but the meaning seemed obvious. I’m not sure what, if anything, God’s trying to tell me with it, considering it’s old news.
The Meaning
This would be clear to anyone who knows the history and current situation at our church, but I figured I'd offer a few lines about the symbolism of this dream.
The assistant pastor of our church was appointed and dismissed from service under dubious circumstances, without the blessing or input of the congregation or any communication whatsoever before the events occurred. He was not even a member of the church before being placed in his "pastorhood," which caused offense from the very start. This put him in a difficult position, and he often felt isolated and unsupported. He left as quickly as he came, causing many hearts (including mine) to grieve and question how his situation was handled from start to finish. He was a central figure in my dream.
Over a year ago, a men's group was started at our church with the understanding that the men were disconnected and inactive as members of our church. We felt that something needed to be done to rectify this problem: men needed to be unified to do the work of the Kingdom together, to lead and direct the spiritual pursuits of their families and the church. Consequently, questions were raised about how the former assistant pastor came to be placed in his position, how he came to leave it so quickly, and how our church chooses leaders to begin with. Questions were also raised about the role of women in church (though it was obvious that the role of MEN in church was the first thing to be worked out). As these two issues were confronted, a disintegration occurred, and the Word of God proved to be the dividing line.
The men were face-down in the nursery, bleeding; these were the "brothers" who were dead. The nursery symbolizes a place where new life learns to function, where little kids play, build things, fall down, laugh and cry. In this formative place, at the cusp of a world of new discovery, the men were wounded and silenced.
On the second visit to the nursery, the men had turned into children from the church. This speaks of the effect the silence, wounding, and demonic resistance toward men as leaders has on the next generation.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Cautions I've been thinking about.
If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. ~ Deuteronomy 13:1-3
And he said, Hear thou therefore the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left. And the LORD said, Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramothgilead? And one said on this manner, and another said on that manner. And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the LORD, and said, I will persuade him. And the LORD said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so. Now therefore, behold, the LORD hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the LORD hath spoken evil concerning thee. ~ 1 Kings 22:19-23
Conformity
I have no plans of trying to become the waffling, sissypated, sniffle-snaffle milktoast man they’re really hoping to see. Does that mean I'm unteachable, that I lack wisdom, that I'm proud? I hope not. I just want to be conformed to the right image.
For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren. Romans 8:29
For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren. Romans 8:29
Forgiveness
I was pretty lazy on Saturday, and at one point I found myself watching some kind of weird show on one of the major networks about forgiveness. It wasn’t a Christian show at all, but I’d been thinking about all the chaos in church and people I respect acting...well...not the way I’d expect grown men to act. I’ve been going around in a funky stew for weeks because of cover-ups, lies of omission, denials, fraud--all the stuff I hate about myself and my history that I’ve seen in our church environment lately. Besides not knowing what to do or say in the wake of it all, I’ve been feeling downright pissed off.
So anyways, I’m watching this show called Choosing to Forgive, and it’s testimonies of these people from different faiths and walks of life who’ve suffered some horrific trauma and have chosen to forgive the person(s) responsible for their loss and anguish.
The Lord commanded us to forgive because forgiveness is about our freedom. Forgiveness is for the wounded first, and for the perpetrator second. Forgiveness sets me free even if people don’t realize they’ve offended me, even if relationship is impossible.
Anyway I realized while watching that show that I needed to forgive the people who didn’t listen, or judged me, or said they needed my input but really didn’t want it, or hid themselves behind a spiritual mask, clutching their fig leaves, or are just plain obtuse, or said they care but never bothered to ask how I’m doing. I don’t have to understand these things. A thorough analysis would bring no real peace.
The only thing to do is to choose to forgive, and ask the Lord to keep my heart soft toward others. He loves them despite their shortcomings, same as He loves me.
So anyways, I’m watching this show called Choosing to Forgive, and it’s testimonies of these people from different faiths and walks of life who’ve suffered some horrific trauma and have chosen to forgive the person(s) responsible for their loss and anguish.
The Lord commanded us to forgive because forgiveness is about our freedom. Forgiveness is for the wounded first, and for the perpetrator second. Forgiveness sets me free even if people don’t realize they’ve offended me, even if relationship is impossible.
Anyway I realized while watching that show that I needed to forgive the people who didn’t listen, or judged me, or said they needed my input but really didn’t want it, or hid themselves behind a spiritual mask, clutching their fig leaves, or are just plain obtuse, or said they care but never bothered to ask how I’m doing. I don’t have to understand these things. A thorough analysis would bring no real peace.
The only thing to do is to choose to forgive, and ask the Lord to keep my heart soft toward others. He loves them despite their shortcomings, same as He loves me.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Don’t Know About You, But I Am Un Chien Andalousia
The men’s meetings at church have been abolished by the leadership. Only God knows why. It probably has something to do with me and my trenchant, odious mouth. There was a lot of talk, that’s all. High talk. Nothing of substance. Flatulence. Finest vanity I’ve seen in my whole short life.
Now: silence, wondering, and more dreaming.
Something going on in Florida proved to be a sad distraction away from what God was saying to the group, to the important issues being brought to bear in the hearts of men on the local level. There is so much I would like to write about the Florida thing, but I won’t. Suffice it to say that a temporary miracle (they are all temporary) is not as important as the message of the cross: sinful man, blood atonement, wonderful Redeemer, and Him crucified. Any great “move of God” that isn’t ensconced in a message of repentance, godly sorrow and the Cross is questionable, miracles or not. That’s what defined the movements of the Wesleys, Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield, Charles Finney, and D.L. Moody, as well as (obviously) the message of the apostles and prophets. I haven’t heard much of that coming out of Florida. It surprises me how long Todd Bentley can talk without ever getting into the Word. I like what Gamaliel said: “If this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought: But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God.” On the other hand, I won’t favor Gamaliel’s counsel over Jesus or Paul or John. False prophets are out there, and they prophesy--they don’t churn butter. False teachers teach. Things have to be questioned, proved, tested. Jesus said people would stand before Him proclaiming miracles they did in His name, and He would say “Depart from Me, I never knew you.” There has to be more than emotions and miraculous signs.
And anything God says or does in the church-at-large should not detract from what He is stirring at the local level. This is where I feel we crashed and burned.
More than ever I wonder what I’m doing, what my purpose is, why I go to church. The church is in as much of a dark age as those precipitating the appearance of John the Baptist and Martin Luther, but as in Laodicea there is no acknowledgment or recognition. Sometimes I feel like the only one awaiting not a great end-time revival, but a great falling away. I am weary of this world: I want to see Jesus.
And I also wonder why God doesn’t always give an answer or bring clarity. There was no divine intervention or obvious “present word” when Paul and Barnabas argued over John Mark, or when the early church debated whether Gentiles should be circumcised. They just had to hash the thing out and sometimes division resulted.
There was extreme drama in the family for the past few weekends. My mother has sold her house in North Carolina and is moving to upstate New York, where she was born. My siblings are not on speaking terms.
The guy I’ve been training for the past four months quit last week after being disciplined by our supervisor. He was a mere eight days from taking his driving test, and he was definitely ready to pass it. Nice kid. I miss him, especially since I don’t have his help anymore and my days last week were all 12+ hours. I felt bad that he quit, since he’d worked so hard for so long and was on the verge of getting his Class A license.
I am waiting, holding myself before the Lord in every sphere: job, vocation, finances, church, living situations, relationships. I was thinking this morning that no matter where I have been in life He has always been present, has always given me hope. The early church sang this song:
If we died with him,
we will also live with him;
if we endure,
we will also reign with him.
If we disown him,
he will also disown us;
if we are faithless,
he will remain faithful,
for he cannot disown himself.
Now: silence, wondering, and more dreaming.
Something going on in Florida proved to be a sad distraction away from what God was saying to the group, to the important issues being brought to bear in the hearts of men on the local level. There is so much I would like to write about the Florida thing, but I won’t. Suffice it to say that a temporary miracle (they are all temporary) is not as important as the message of the cross: sinful man, blood atonement, wonderful Redeemer, and Him crucified. Any great “move of God” that isn’t ensconced in a message of repentance, godly sorrow and the Cross is questionable, miracles or not. That’s what defined the movements of the Wesleys, Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield, Charles Finney, and D.L. Moody, as well as (obviously) the message of the apostles and prophets. I haven’t heard much of that coming out of Florida. It surprises me how long Todd Bentley can talk without ever getting into the Word. I like what Gamaliel said: “If this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought: But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God.” On the other hand, I won’t favor Gamaliel’s counsel over Jesus or Paul or John. False prophets are out there, and they prophesy--they don’t churn butter. False teachers teach. Things have to be questioned, proved, tested. Jesus said people would stand before Him proclaiming miracles they did in His name, and He would say “Depart from Me, I never knew you.” There has to be more than emotions and miraculous signs.
And anything God says or does in the church-at-large should not detract from what He is stirring at the local level. This is where I feel we crashed and burned.
More than ever I wonder what I’m doing, what my purpose is, why I go to church. The church is in as much of a dark age as those precipitating the appearance of John the Baptist and Martin Luther, but as in Laodicea there is no acknowledgment or recognition. Sometimes I feel like the only one awaiting not a great end-time revival, but a great falling away. I am weary of this world: I want to see Jesus.
And I also wonder why God doesn’t always give an answer or bring clarity. There was no divine intervention or obvious “present word” when Paul and Barnabas argued over John Mark, or when the early church debated whether Gentiles should be circumcised. They just had to hash the thing out and sometimes division resulted.
There was extreme drama in the family for the past few weekends. My mother has sold her house in North Carolina and is moving to upstate New York, where she was born. My siblings are not on speaking terms.
The guy I’ve been training for the past four months quit last week after being disciplined by our supervisor. He was a mere eight days from taking his driving test, and he was definitely ready to pass it. Nice kid. I miss him, especially since I don’t have his help anymore and my days last week were all 12+ hours. I felt bad that he quit, since he’d worked so hard for so long and was on the verge of getting his Class A license.
I am waiting, holding myself before the Lord in every sphere: job, vocation, finances, church, living situations, relationships. I was thinking this morning that no matter where I have been in life He has always been present, has always given me hope. The early church sang this song:
If we died with him,
we will also live with him;
if we endure,
we will also reign with him.
If we disown him,
he will also disown us;
if we are faithless,
he will remain faithful,
for he cannot disown himself.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Well Shut Mah Mouf...
Insane week. I took Tuesday off because I was sick all last weekend, probably from working in downpours on Friday and gale-force winds and rain the following Monday. Plus my aunt (Dad’s sister) was in town with my uncle and two of my cousins. We went and met them in Rehoboth for lunch. I got tired of them quick. My aunt has the focus and clarity of ten wadded strings of old Christmas lights. She was telling me about my two cousins (both female) living with a guy in their apartment in D.C. At least one of them sleeps with him.
“Three’s Company,” I remarked. “Remember that show?”
She laughed and then said, “Well, society might say they should get married but we’re very liberal, me and Jack. We always thought the best thing to do was to let them find their own way.”
“Mmmm,” I said, tight-lipped. I was thinking society doesn’t want them to get married at all...unless they’re gay. Later on she told me about how much she likes reading C.S. Lewis. Stupid. Four hours in their presence was enough to hold me another couple of years. It also made me miss my father somewhat.
It’s not that they aren’t nice. They are. They just seem confused and I felt sort of sick and hungover and out of sorts talking to them.
Then yesterday, Friday, I had the chance to work in the pouring down rain all day again, and today I woke up, had some coffee, finished a novel I’ve been reading about soldiers on the front lines with the Israeli Defense Forces (Matches, by Alan Kaufman), did some shopping for a motorcycle online, mowed the grass, took a shower, felt nauseous, laid down, took a nap, and woke up with a fever.
This week at men’s meeting I made a guy so angry he ruptured a blood vessel in his eye. Me and some others asked questions about some concerns we’ve had and were (nicely and indirectly) told to shut up.
I’m not sure what do about it. I put so much mental energy and prayer and thought into the thing, and now it seems like it was all in vain. I suppose I’ll go to maybe one more meeting before I stop wasting my time and just go back to using Sunday mornings to write notes and letters in my composition book.
I don’t like being the guy who, with honest words, makes people bust veins in their head. Let them have what they want, I say. Maybe in the future I’ll be more careful about casting pearls before swine.
“Three’s Company,” I remarked. “Remember that show?”
She laughed and then said, “Well, society might say they should get married but we’re very liberal, me and Jack. We always thought the best thing to do was to let them find their own way.”
“Mmmm,” I said, tight-lipped. I was thinking society doesn’t want them to get married at all...unless they’re gay. Later on she told me about how much she likes reading C.S. Lewis. Stupid. Four hours in their presence was enough to hold me another couple of years. It also made me miss my father somewhat.
It’s not that they aren’t nice. They are. They just seem confused and I felt sort of sick and hungover and out of sorts talking to them.
Then yesterday, Friday, I had the chance to work in the pouring down rain all day again, and today I woke up, had some coffee, finished a novel I’ve been reading about soldiers on the front lines with the Israeli Defense Forces (Matches, by Alan Kaufman), did some shopping for a motorcycle online, mowed the grass, took a shower, felt nauseous, laid down, took a nap, and woke up with a fever.
This week at men’s meeting I made a guy so angry he ruptured a blood vessel in his eye. Me and some others asked questions about some concerns we’ve had and were (nicely and indirectly) told to shut up.
I’m not sure what do about it. I put so much mental energy and prayer and thought into the thing, and now it seems like it was all in vain. I suppose I’ll go to maybe one more meeting before I stop wasting my time and just go back to using Sunday mornings to write notes and letters in my composition book.
I don’t like being the guy who, with honest words, makes people bust veins in their head. Let them have what they want, I say. Maybe in the future I’ll be more careful about casting pearls before swine.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
On my mind this morning...
In today’s church, personal experience is held in higher regard than what God says. Everyone has his opinions, his perspectives, his iniquities. The enemy’s relentless attack on the family and the unity of the church has left us stupid and unguarded, yet full of strange conceit. In my church, this manifests as a subconscious pride in being “charismatic” or Spirit-filled. “Well, at least I’m not a Methodist or a Catholic or a fundamentalist.”
If we (the American church) knew what God says about children, would we still make it a goal to prevent birth?
Why is it the norm for Christian mothers to work outside the home?
Why do Christian men avoid church, or slink away from the consequences of truth while they’re in church?
Why isn’t the church telling the truth? Is it because we know that if we start to embrace truth, people will certainly get angry and leave? Does watering down the Word or tiptoeing around God’s perspectives really help anyone? What was Jesus’ example? Paul’s?
We are distracted by what God is saying and doing in other places. Some might think, I wish I could go to the oasis, the place where God is moving, so I could have a refreshing drink. (I’ve thought this before.) But God wants to give us a drink right where we are, and then He wants to slake others through us. Assuming we lived a hundred years ago before television, satellites, Internet, fast mail and easy access to books, how would the local church be spending its time? What would it have to guide its functioning and behavior?
Why are we afraid of questions?
If we (the American church) knew what God says about children, would we still make it a goal to prevent birth?
Why is it the norm for Christian mothers to work outside the home?
Why do Christian men avoid church, or slink away from the consequences of truth while they’re in church?
Why isn’t the church telling the truth? Is it because we know that if we start to embrace truth, people will certainly get angry and leave? Does watering down the Word or tiptoeing around God’s perspectives really help anyone? What was Jesus’ example? Paul’s?
We are distracted by what God is saying and doing in other places. Some might think, I wish I could go to the oasis, the place where God is moving, so I could have a refreshing drink. (I’ve thought this before.) But God wants to give us a drink right where we are, and then He wants to slake others through us. Assuming we lived a hundred years ago before television, satellites, Internet, fast mail and easy access to books, how would the local church be spending its time? What would it have to guide its functioning and behavior?
Why are we afraid of questions?
Monday, April 28, 2008
Let a woman quietly receive instruction with entire submissiveness. But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet. For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve. And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being quite deceived, fell into transgression. But women shall be saved (preserved) through the bearing of children if they continue in faith and love and sanctity with self-restraint. 1 Timothy 2:9-15
Let the women keep silent in the churches; for they are not permitted to speak, but let them subject themselves, just as the Law also says. And if they desire to learn anything, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is improper (disgraceful) for a woman to speak in church. 1 Corinthians 14:34, 35
Horrible. Horrible! Passages like these make me wince. I doubt they were surprising, provocative, or controversial in the First Century, though. A patriarchal society was the norm for the Jews and most of their neighbors. A patriarchal society is what God established and ordained, throughout the Word, Old and New Testaments. Here’s the divine order:
GOD
MAN
WOMAN
CHILDREN
Several years ago, I had set my heart on devoting some serious study to the roles of men, women, and children in the home and in church life. I had a lot on my mind--divorce and abortion statistics, the widespread acceptance of preventing life (birth control), the fact that moms are working instead of raising their children. I remember feeling very grieved because the church of Jesus Christ seemed to possess the same attitudes and behaviors as the surrounding culture. Instead of the church affecting the world, the world was affecting the church. These thoughts and prayers were what was swirling around in my spirit just before Inscrutable Girl reached out to touch me for the first time.
Now I am thinking about them again.
Women have gotten used to covering their husbands, instead of the other way around. And men are accustomed to letting women run the works, thinking they’ll somehow escape responsibility, accountability, work. The church is up to its eyeballs in the lie of the culture. The lie is very simple: men as fathers, husbands, and leaders are basically unnecessary.
Masculinity in America is a handicap, a social problem. A boy's inherent maleness needs to be trained out of him, sedated, withered. He needs to learn to be nice, even when that means lying or keeping silent.
God is calling men. He wants men to lead. This isn’t a new revelation. There isn’t going to be any way to compromise what God has said or find a middle ground to make everyone happy. No. Either the church will embrace the plan and purpose of God in humble submission to His strange and marvelous ways, or else it will stagger and reel into bed with Babylon the Harlot.
Paul: “I want the men...to pray.” 1 Timothy 2:8
Let the women keep silent in the churches; for they are not permitted to speak, but let them subject themselves, just as the Law also says. And if they desire to learn anything, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is improper (disgraceful) for a woman to speak in church. 1 Corinthians 14:34, 35
Horrible. Horrible! Passages like these make me wince. I doubt they were surprising, provocative, or controversial in the First Century, though. A patriarchal society was the norm for the Jews and most of their neighbors. A patriarchal society is what God established and ordained, throughout the Word, Old and New Testaments. Here’s the divine order:
GOD
MAN
WOMAN
CHILDREN
Several years ago, I had set my heart on devoting some serious study to the roles of men, women, and children in the home and in church life. I had a lot on my mind--divorce and abortion statistics, the widespread acceptance of preventing life (birth control), the fact that moms are working instead of raising their children. I remember feeling very grieved because the church of Jesus Christ seemed to possess the same attitudes and behaviors as the surrounding culture. Instead of the church affecting the world, the world was affecting the church. These thoughts and prayers were what was swirling around in my spirit just before Inscrutable Girl reached out to touch me for the first time.
Now I am thinking about them again.
Women have gotten used to covering their husbands, instead of the other way around. And men are accustomed to letting women run the works, thinking they’ll somehow escape responsibility, accountability, work. The church is up to its eyeballs in the lie of the culture. The lie is very simple: men as fathers, husbands, and leaders are basically unnecessary.
Masculinity in America is a handicap, a social problem. A boy's inherent maleness needs to be trained out of him, sedated, withered. He needs to learn to be nice, even when that means lying or keeping silent.
God is calling men. He wants men to lead. This isn’t a new revelation. There isn’t going to be any way to compromise what God has said or find a middle ground to make everyone happy. No. Either the church will embrace the plan and purpose of God in humble submission to His strange and marvelous ways, or else it will stagger and reel into bed with Babylon the Harlot.
Paul: “I want the men...to pray.” 1 Timothy 2:8
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