Love for God: Love without Measure, Burning without Discretion!

Lord Jesu, I ask Thee, give unto
me movement in Thy love without
measure; desire without limit;
longing without order; burning
without discretion. Truly the
better the love of Thee is, the
greedier it is; for neither by
reason is it restrained, nor by
dread distressed, nor by doom tempted.

-- Richard Rolle (1290?-1349),
Fire of Love, 1343,

photo taken in Colorado Springs, Colorado

Richard Rolle
love for God
Colorado Springs

Stories of Conversion: Anne Lamott

I've decided to post some accounts
of people's conversions. I came upon
this, Anne Lammott's account of her
conversion. (If you haven't read
Anne Lammott, you've missed a treat--
but know she's not your grandmother's
style of Christian!).

This is simply poignant:

"After a while, as I lay there,
I became aware of someone with me,
hunkered down in the corner, and I
just assumed it was my father,
whose presence I had felt over the
years when I was frightened and alone.
The feeling was so strong that I
actually turned on the light for a
moment to make sure no one was there
--of course, there wasn't. But after
a while, in the dark again, I knew
beyond any doubt that it was Jesus.
I felt him as surely as I feel my dog
lying nearby as I write this."

"And I was appalled... I thought
about what everyone would think of me
if I became a Christian, and it seemed
an utterly impossible thing that simply
could not be allowed to happen. I turned
to the wall and said out loud, "I would
rather die."

"I felt Him just sitting there on His
haunches in the corner of my sleeping loft,
watching me with patience and love, and I
squinched my eyes shut, but that didn't
help because that's not what I was seeing
Him with."

"Finally I fell asleep, and in the morning,
He was gone."

"This experience spooked me badly, but I
thought it was just an apparition, born of
fear and self-loathing and booze and loss of
blood. But then everywhere I went, I had the
feeling that a little cat was following me,
wanting me to reach down and pick it up,
wanting me to open the door and let it in.
But I knew what would happen: you let a cat
in one time, give it a little milk, and then
it stays forever... "

"And one week later, when I went back to
church, I was so hungover that I couldn't
stand up for the songs, and this time I
stayed for the sermon, which I just thought
was so ridiculous, like someone trying to
convince me of the existence of extraterrestrials,
but the last song was so deep and raw and pure
that I could not escape. It was as if the people
were singing in between the notes, weeping and
joyful at the same time, and I felt like their
voices or something was rocking me in its bosom,
holding me like a scared kid, and I opened up to
that feeling--and it washed over me."

"I began to cry and left before the benediction,
and I raced home and felt the little cat running
at my heels, and I walked down the dock past
dozens of potted flowers, under a sky as blue as
one of God's own dreams, and I opened the door
to my houseboat, and I stood there a minute,
and then I hung my head and said... 'I quit.'
I took a long deep breath and said out loud,
'All right. You can come in.'"

"So this was my beautiful moment of conversion."

--Anne Lammott, Traveling Mercies

conversion accounts
salvation
Anne Lammott

"Daniel Purposed" & The Eternal Purpose of God

This is part two of a bible study on Daniel
"purposing".

"Daniel Purposed" & The Eternal Purpose of God

We have been studying the concept
of Daniel "purposing" in his heart
to serve God. Let us look at the
Divine Inventor of all that is,
the Purposer of Purpose--
and see what the very purpose of
God is in creation and in redemption.

Romans 8:28 & 29 tells us that "All
things work together for good to those
who love God, to those who are called
according to His purpose. For whom
He foreknew, He also predestined to be
conformed into the image of His Son
that He might be the firstborn among
many brethren."

Often the reading of verse 28 is
taken out of context in this way:
it is often read on its own and
fails to emphasize vs. 29!

The purpose of God is completely
centered in Christ! It is all
about Jesus! If we can begin
to understand the purpose of
God and begin to allow it to
penetrate our thinking and
eclipse our self-obscessive thinking
with ourselves we will soon
come to a great place of
freedom. We will no longer be
viewing our own personal lives,
along with their problems, victories,
defeats and various trials as
the center point of our
existence. We have been created
through and for Christ! (Colossians
1:16).

Often when we hear Romans 8:28
quoted it is quoted to assure us
that all will be well, and indeed,
all WILL be well--because God
will triumph with His purposes
for Christ! We get to be part of
that, we get to watch that,
applaud it, participate in that,
be we must never forget that
we are UNTO HIM and not He
unto us.

This whole grand universe is not
about everything ultimately "going
right" for me, but everything being
brought into Christ! Ephesians 1: 9-10
says, "having made known to us
the mystery of His will,
according to His good pleasure,
which He purposed in Himself,

that in the dispensation of the
fulness of the times He might
gather together in one all
things in Christ, both which are
in heaven, and which are on
earth--IN HIM!"

When God created this whole
world, when He planned and
purposed all that would be,
He put Christ at the center
of it, and this thought
brought Him great pleasure!

Christ above all! Christ in
all! Christ at the center of
all things! Christ holding
all things together! All things
inside of Christ!

We need to grasp the Christ-
centeredness of this universe.
We need to allow our minds to
hold that truth for it shall
change the way we relate to
ourselves and to our lives.

So often we are still thinking
that it is all about us. Christ
yes, has won our salvation,
but the salvation now seems to
makes it all about me, again,
and how I can gain from that.

Dear Ones, we are all presents
for Christ, handcrafted by God,
perfected and purified by the
Holy Spirit. We are all called
to be "unto Him." Yes, we have
meaning and existence, and happiness
and salvation, but they are all
merely happy by-products of God's
gift to His Son Jesus!

When doubts plague us, when
we wonder about what our purpose
is, when we look to find meaning,
we often put ourselves at the
center of that search. If we put
Christ at the center, where God
puts Him, then we could find our
place much more readily: we
are wrapped under the tree of Calvary,
now a glorious tree of life, and not
a somber tree of death, as a present
for Christ.

At Calvary, Christ proved that
the Father's confidence
in Him was right: that all
things rightfully belong to Him
because He payed the ultimate
price and not only that, but
because of the absolute
loveliness of His Person.

The salvation that Christ
won for us was not the end,
but the restoration for what
was just beginning: the consummation
of all things in Christ.

The plan of God in the garden
of Eden was just the beginning
of God's plan. God did not intend
to just create a few happy people
in the garden of God. He intended
to sweep it all into a grander,
more glorious place: a family,
even a bride for His Son. The
garden of eden starts with a few,
but ends up as the great City of God
even, the Lamb's wife (Rev 21:9,10).

That plan was momentarily challenged
by our sinful choice, but God
had already foreseen, predestined,
fore-ordained a greater victory!

Often the mentality that we come
away with from the modern gospel
is that we need to "accept Jesus"
so that we can go to heaven.
That is just the beginning! And
in some ways that is not even
the point. Jesus does not need
"accepting". God has already
accepted Him. We need to be
accepted by HIM!

God did not make heaven to have
a nice place to put us when we
die! "Heaven" is not going to
be all about us, but all about
Christ receiving all that is due
to Him!

T.Austin-Sparks writes this:

"The intention in the heart of God
in bringing this universe into
existence was that, ultimately,
the whole creation should display
the glory and supremacy of His Son,
Jesus Christ; and this one little
fragment, "and in Him all things
hold together" (Col. 1:17), says quite
clearly that but for the Lord Jesus Christ
the whole universe would disintegrate,
fall apart; it would be without
its uniting factor; it would cease
to have a reason for being maintained
as a complete and concrete whole.

Its holding together, its failure to
disintegrate and break up, is because
of this: God has determined that the
Lord Jesus shall be the centre, the
governing centre, of this whole universe,
and He - God's Son - is the explanation
of creation. But for Him, there never
would have been a creation. Take Him out,
and creation loses its purpose and its
object, and need not go on any longer.
"Christ is all, and in all", was the
thought, the ruling thought, in the
mind of God in the creation of the universe."

Wow! Who is man that You are mindful of
Him,and the son of man, that you should visit
him (Psalm 8:4)? Austin-Sparks further comments
on the purpose of man:

What is the explanation of man? ... God
intended that every man entering this
world should be conformed to the image
of His Son, Jesus Christ. Multitudes
will miss it, but there will be multitudes
such as no man can number, out of every tribe
and kindred and nation and tongue, who will
realize it.

What a high calling! What a different
conception of man that is from that which
is popularly held, and what a thing to be
missed! And yet there are many who say
complainingly that if they had had
their way they would never have come into
this world. There have been those who,
in an hour of eclipse, cursed the day
that they saw the light.

Ah, but something has gone wrong there;
that is not how the Lord meant it to be,
and however much we may have blue days,
when we wonder whether really it is
worthwhile after all, let us come back
to God's thought in our very being. It
is our tremendous privilege, the highest
honour that could ever have been conferred
upon us from the Divine standpoint,
that we should have been born.

We do not always feel or speak like that,
but we are constantly compelled to bring
ourselves back to God's point of view about
this and to remember that His purpose is to
have a universe peopled with such as are
conformed to the image of His Son, Jesus
Christ, a people who are a universal
manifestation of Christ glorified with
the glory of the Father. That is a
privilege, an honour, something to be
born for! That is the explanation of man.

God wants to make known His infinite
wisdom BY THE CHURCH to the principalities
and powers in the heavenly places.
God is telling a story to all of heaven!
I wonder if the heavenly onlookers feel
it is a nailbiter or if they wait with
awed expectation to see this "fellowship of
the mystery" explained and revealed
(Ephesians 3:8-11).

Think of it, every humble Christian who
has ever lived, every saved soul in the
backwoods or the jungle, illiterate or
unknown, unlearned or without honor in
the equation of the worldly wisdom, is
part of the eternal purpose of God!
They, indeed we, are made by Christ and
to Christ and shall be a pleasure for Christ!

Angels look into these matters and shake
their heads (I Peter 1:12)! Even we who
are being saved are not clear as to the
greatness of what our salvation means!
Beloved, we need to inquire of the Lord,
take His perspective, line our minds up
with His purpose. That is a great purpose
to purpose! No lesser purpose will
ever do! Ask God to show you His
Purpose. It will change your life
eternally!

(this bible study is a continuation
of a Bible Study on the book of Daniel,
further installments are archived in
this blog under "Daniel Bible Study"
and "Bible"


the eternal purpose of God
Daniel purposed
bible study, purpose of God
T.Austin-Sparks

Groans Which Cannot be Uttered: The Intercession of the Holy Spirit

Nor are we alone in our struggles.
The Holy Spirit supports our
helplessness. Left to ourselves we
do not know what prayers to offer
or how to offer them. But in those
inarticulate groans which rise
from the depth of our being, we
recognize the voice of none other
than the Holy Spirit. He makes
intercession; and His intercession
is sure to be answered. For God Who
searches the inmost recesses of the
heart can interpret His own Spirit's
meaning. He knows that His own Will
regulates His Spirit's petitions, and
that they are offered for men dedicated
to His service.

... William Sanday (1843-1920) &
Arthur C. Headlam (1862-1947), A Critical
and Exegetical Commentary on the
Epistle to the Romans, p. 212 [1896]

picture taken near Ludlow, England

prayer
Romans 8:26, 27

Do Not Hide Your Light Under A Basket: Matthew 5:14-16

Out of the deepest felt sense of
your utter need for Me, I bring boldness.
He who listens and obeys, understands.
He who knows he cannot, is
made able by My Hand.

The one who falls, in humility,
at the foot of the Cross is able
to stand up and discern clearly
for guile and self-will has been
removed.

Before I release you into the outer, I
build and perfect the inner.
I have spent much work on the inner.
But now, off comes the cover so
that the inner (your hidden life
in Me) and the outer (what others
see from the outside) can
come together in a perfect whole.

The inner is no longer in need of
being hidden. The outer has need of
its testimony and it nature. Do not
hide your light under a basket.

Plunge into My River--fear not its
swirling depths: it will carry you
to places you do not know about,
but are prepared for. Trust Me.

Spirit of Love, come upon me!

"O Consuming Fire, Spirit of Love,
'Come upon me,' and create in my
soul a dwelling place for the Word:
that I may be another
humanity for Him in which He can
express His whole Mystery.

And You, O Father, bend lovingly over
Your poor little creature, 'Cover her
with Your shadow,' seeing in her only
the 'Beloved in whom You are
well pleased.'"

- Elizabeth of the Trinity

photo taken at St. Peter's, Rome, Italy

St. Peter's, Rome
Elizabeth of the Trinity

Fulfill Thy Paradox in Me

When Thou hast mastered me,
Then shall I be victor:
When Thou hast enslaved me,
Then shall I be free:
When Thou hast humbled me,
Then shall I be exalted.
When Thou hast prostrated me,
Then shall I be strong:
When Thou hast impoverished me,
Then shall I be wealthy:
When Thou hast emptied me,
Then shall I be full:
When Thou hast taken all,
Then shall I have all.
My Master, Lo, I come to Thee:
Fulfill Thy paradox in me.
--The Society of Friends (Quakers)


photo taken near Colorado Springs, Colorado

Colorado Springs

Bible Study on the Book of Daniel: Daniel Purposed in His Heart: Lesson 4

"Daniel purposed in his heart that he
would not defile himself" (Daniel 1:8)

Our lives will become something. Either
by default or by drift or by definite
decision, we will become something. Daniel
purposed in his heart that he would stay
true to God. Even if we are imprisoned
or taken captive, our essential choices
are still ours. Others may decide what
they will do to us, or they will exercise
control of over our work situation or time or
life circumstances, but how we react
and how we respond is something that
no-one can take from us. Therefore,
we can ALWAYS choose God.

A typically human response is to feel
sorry for ourselves or to complain or
feel helpless: as if we are at the mercy of
the responses of others. We can feel that
we are a victim and if others would just
do this or do that then we would be able
to serve God. But our ultimate choices
lay entirely in our hands and under our
control and we must "purpose" to choose
God. What we "purpose" will make or
break us!

The word "purpose" is a strong word.
It means to set, ordain, establish, to
set in place, to fix, and in some forms,
to set or make for a sign."

Daniel had to "purpose" and then he
had to decide to stick with his purpose--
come lions, fire, an unreasonable king,
come hell or high water!

From the very beginning of his captivity
in Babylon, Daniel had to develop a
spirit of "no compromise" or at some
point he would lose his resolve and
his head would start to spin, and his
resolve weaken, and soon he would
find himself a fine example of a
Babylonian --and his relationship
with God with seem like a distant
memory.

Do you know people who make excuses?
Have you ever offered godly advice
to others and they were not interested
in taking it? I am not talking about nagging
someone, but offering them tried and
true advice and they are unwilling?

You suggest a plan of action for a problem
they may have mentioned and they say,
"It is too far to go; It is too much money;
It is too much work; I'm busy on that night;
I'm just not good and you are; things work
for you but not for me; I tried that before
but it didn't work; I will try (but they never
do); do you have any other suggestions?;
or they seek a "word from the Lord" from
someone else, one that is more in line
with what they want to do. Maybe. Tomorrow.
I hope. Could be. Later. I'm coming in just
a minute, Lord.

All of this is not just not purposing, it
is the opposite of purposing. All this kind
of thinking and response will lead to us
being overtaken by the high waves of
life and of Babylon that will roll over us.

Do you know that the waves on the
beautiful beaches of Babylon have a strong
undertow? They will sweep you out
to sea of Sin if you are not careful.

Like Daniel, you have to purpose
in your heart not to be defiled.

What are some examples of
different ways that we can purpose
in the Bible?

Do you know that God purposes?

In Acts 19:21 Paul "purposed in Spirit"
to go where God sent him. It was a
deliberate setting of one's heart and
mind and will to do what God wanted.
The minute he purposed in his heart
the great riot of Ephesus erupted in
his midst. Just get used to the idea
that once you purpose in your heart
to do the will of God you will probably
meet with significant opposition!

People can have an equally strong
purpose against your purposing
for God, and against the purposes
of God. In Acts 27:43, when the
ship Paul was on was shipwrecked,
the soldiers that guarded the
prisoners purposed to kill them,
Paul included, so that they would not
escape. The centurion intervened
to saved Paul. In a sense, he, too,
purposed to give Paul a chance
to live.

Another scripture that contains
the idea of men purposing against
God is Genesis 11:6 which is about
the building of the tower of Babel.
The Lord said, "the people are one
and have the same language...now
nothing they purpose to do will
be withheld from them."

So we see that purposing is powerful,
even when it is against God! Still,
the purpose of man cannot stand
against the purpose of God! Amen!

God's response to Babel was to go
down and confuse their speech and
confound their plans. He purposed
to undue their purposing!

In the Old Testament, when God
purposes, it is often connected with
bringing down evil places or things
that come against that which is
good or that which would totally
destroy His people.

In Isaiah 14:22-27, God purposes
to destroy Babylon and Assyria.
And who will stop the Lord?
"For the Lord of Hosts has
purposed, and who will annul it?
His hand is stretched out and who
will turn it back?" Try, O Man,
or Ungodly Nation, to stop the
purpose of God!

In the New Testament, the purposes
of God are expressed in
expansive and eternal terms.
Romans 8:28 : "For we know that
all things work together for good
to those who love God, to those
who are called according to His
purpose." Thank God that
despite the blows of life, all things
will work together for those who
love God because He has purposed
they will. You are safe!

Ephesians 3:11 says, "In Him
also we have obtained an inheritance,
being predestined according to
the purpose of Him who works
ALL things according to the counsel
of His will." God has a preordained
purpose that will be fulfilled and
that involves our receiving an
inheritance--even Himself!

He purposed the mystery of His
will, according to His good pleasure
(verse 9). The great things that
God has thought up and purposed
in His heart for us make Him
happy. They are good things!
These things are far above what we
could ask or think--so far above us
that they are called
"the mystery of His will." And
yet He has seen fit to begin to
reveal to us His redemption
through His blood, the forgiveness
of sins, according to the riches
of His grace which He made to abound
toward us in all wisdom and prudent
understanding" (vs 7 & 8).

Paul says as he writes in First
Timothy 1:9 that God has saved
us and called us, not according
to our own works, but according
to HIS OWN PURPOSE and
grace which was given to us
in Christ Jesus before time began!

The purposes of God are great
purposes that start in God,
are accomplished by God, and
end with God gathering together
in one all things in Christ--both
which are in heaven and on
earth! (Ephesians 1:10). Wow!

We must have this same intensity
of purpose, this same scope of
commitment, this same joy
in purposing to give God all!

Psalm 17 says, "You have tested
my heart, You have visited me
in the night; You have tried me
and found nothing [evil]. I have
purposed that my mouth shall
not transgress." When God
comes to test us, what will
He find? If we purpose not
to sin with our mouth, we
will have started in a good
place!

Proverbs 15:22 says "without
counsel, purposes go awry,
but in the multitude of counselors
they are established."
We must seek the Lord, and seek
out spiritual men and women
to help us to set our purposes
in a Godly way. If we think we
can just go our own way, we
will soon be just going after
our own wayward purpose and
not the purpose of God.

Daniel was aided in his purposing
by his three friends. Evil company
corrupts good habits. The company
you keep affects you! Awake
to righteousness and do not sin!
(I Cor. 15:33, 34). Purpose in
your heart to agree with God
and walk with Him and His
godly ones!

(this bible study is a continuation
of a Bible Study on the book of Daniel,
further installments are archived in
this blog under "Daniel Bible Study"
and "Bible"



Daniel
Book of Daniel
Bible Study Book of Daniel
Babylon
faith in difficult times
compromised gospel
spiritual disciplines
purpose of God

The Xenoiakian Syndrome: Homesickness for Heaven

I think I was born again with *Xenoiakian
Syndrome, but it sure does seem to have
gotten worse lately. If you travel alot, it is
quite common to wake up in a strange house
and wonder where you are. A kind of "If its
Tuesday, it must be Belgium" whirlwind of
road warrior displacement.

As Dorothy says, "There's no place like
home." No place like the comfort that
comes from living in the domicile you are
meant to inhabit in safe, cozy bliss.
No place like Kansas, sort of.

What seems to be happening with
me is that while I am away from
home I seem to have those "where
am I moments?" but when I come
home it seems to develop into
a full blown case of Xenoiakian
Syndrome.

And what is that you may ask?

It comes from the Greek word
Xenos meaning stranger or foreign,
and the greek workd oiakia, meaning
house. "Strange house" syndrome,
to be sure. In a capsule, one feels
not quite at ease in one's own home,
as if to be found in a strange house.

It happens the most when returning
home to my own house. A feeling
of not really feeling like I'm really
home. Homesick when home.
A feeling of distance in familiar
surroundings.

C.S. Lewis describes it thus in
The Weight of Glory:

"Our lifelong nostalgia, our longing to
be reunited with something in the universe
from which we now feel cut off, to be on
the inside of some door which we have
always seen from the outside, is no mere
neurotic fancy, but the truest index of
our real situation. And to be at last
summoned inside would be both glory and
honor beyond all our merits and also the
healing of that old ache.


Now grant you, my house is
perfectly cozy and this is
not Alzheimer's setting in. I know
where the silverware
is, and the towels, and I know
for absolute darn well sure where I
stash the chocolate. Yet even the
chocolate seems like cardboard
when I think of my true Home.

It's just that when I come home
and expect to sigh a "there's no place like
home" sigh, full of warm fuzzies, I feel,
instead, like I am strangely not at home.

I find it interesting, and absolutely,
positively, heartbreakingly comforting,
to know that Jesus spent some
of the last moments of His prime time
with His disciples talking about
Xenoiakian Syndrome.

"In My Father's house are many
mansions: if it were not so, I would
have told you. I go to prepare a place
for you. And where I go you know,
and the way you know" (John 14:
2 & 3).

I feel so comforted by the fact that
Jesus said, "I will not leave you
as orphans, as comfortless" (John
14:18). He, knowing what it
was like to be human, and yet
divinely far from Home, is making
all the preparations for us.
He anticipated all that we would
feel and all that we would need.

Just as a good host prepares
each detail for the coming guests.
Jesus said, "Oh, and I know how
you are going to feel. I had a
monumental case of Xenoiakian
Syndrome Myself. I am not
abandoning you, I am not leaving
you without comfort. Your home
is in My Father's house and you
will find all bed's less than perfect
until you arrive in the Home for
which you were made. But do not
doubt that such a perfect place
of rest exists.

Note that Jesus said, "If this was
not true, I would not have told
you." How interesting that Jesus
picks this point to reassure the
disciples that He is not lying or
exaggerating or speaking in
some metaphor that has no
basis in the grand Reality of
Heaven.


He did not spend time reassuring
us that certain creeds were indeed
correct in their minutiae or
going over the fine points of
how to best share the gospel.

He tenderly goes straight to
the deepest need of the human
heart: to find its home in God,
and to reassure you and I that
there is indeed a Place
called Home in His Kingdom.

You don't know how relieved
I feel. Well, maybe you do,
if you have Xenoiakian Syndrome
also. In T. S. Eliot's famous
poem, Return of the Magi,
the magi ponder this after they
have seen Jesus:

"We returned to our places, these
Kingdoms, But no longer at ease
here, in the old dispensation."

I tell you the truth, Xenoiakian
Syndrome is contracted from seeing
Jesus. For after You do see Him,
you will not be at ease in your
own home, however cozy;
in your own town, however quaint;
in your own church, however lovely;
in your own kingdom, however
impressive. Not really. Not completely.

Actually not at all.

Xenioakian Syndrome ruins all that.

The exiles of Israel, taken out of
their home to Babylon, had an
early but severe strain of XS.

"By the rivers of Babylon, we
sat down, yea, we wept, for
Zion. We hung our harps
on the willows there, for
those who carried us away
captive, required of us, a
a song, They that wasted us
required of us laughter,
saying "Sing of one of the
Songs of Zion."

How shall we sing the Lord's
songs, in a foreign land?
(Psalm 137: 1-4).

Indeed.

Further symptoms of Xenoiakian
Syndrome follow along in this
passage: inability to function
in one's giftings unless one is
mindful of Zion. This especially
affects the right hand. (Psalm
137: 4).

Also, a drought of soul that causes
the tongue to cleave to the
roof of one's mouth unless
one thinks of Jerusalem (Ps.
137:6).

In all a cases an extreme
case of homesickness develops
for a Home one has not yet
been to, making worldly
attachments difficult if
not impossible.

There is a known cure, but
one has to die to receive
it, making successful treatment,
while still on earth, impossible.

Yet one can find great comfort
in Jesus, the One who is the
Consolation of Israel (Luke
2:25). He is both the cause
and the cure of Xenoiakian
Syndrome. All we can do is
trust in Him and His Word
while He is busy with the
carpentry of what will cure
us.

Many have found support
groups for XS. Consult
your local church for
meetings in your area.
You will recognize others
who have it by that
faraway glint in their eyes,
by the holy manner of life
that they lead, and by
their inability to be
satisfied with anything
less than a full and
unimpeded vision of Christ
and a relentless homesickness
for a Home not yet seen
with human eyes.

I said earlier that Xenioakian
Syndrome is caused by seeing
Jesus. It is also cured by seeing Him.
Several hours in His Presence
will bring both relief from and
a predicted reoccurence of XS.

Do you have Xenoiakian Syndrome?

See your Doctor if you
experience any of the
aforementioned symptoms.
Temporary help is available
Eternal help is on its way.


*pronounced "zeenokian"

Xenoiakian Syndrome
Psalm 137
homesick for Heaven
In My Father's House are Many Mansions
new words

The Holiness of God

"Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts" Isaiah 6:3

Holiness is the harmony of all virtues. The Lord

has not one glorious attribute alone, or in excess,

but all glories are in Him as a whole; this is the

crown of His honour and the honour of His crown.

His power is not his choicest jewel, nor His

sovereignty, but His holiness. In this all

comprehensive moral excellence He would

have His creatures take delight.

.... C. H. Spurgeon, The Treasury of David.

photo taken near Monument, Colorado

Charles Spurgeon

holiness

Monument, Colorado

He Who Lives By The Sword Dies By It: Should A Christian Protect Himself? Part Two of "Should the Church Use Armed Guards?"

In Luke 22:35-38, we again look at this
most difficult saying of Jesus. How
shall we interpret Jesus' words to His
disciples to "buy a sword" when it
seems to be at odds with the tenor
of what Jesus preaches, (i.e. turn the
other cheek; forgive; walk the second
mile, etc)?

Matthew Henry suggests that the sword
Jesus is telling them to buy is a
spiritual sword. In one sense our
weapons must be spiritual but
was this what Jesus had in mind here?
This buying of the sword is still
linked with Jesus being numbered
with the transgressors, which is
not easily understood. So attaining
a "spiritual" sword would not be
something that was worthy of prosecution
or even visible. Is Jesus suggesting that
his disciples obtain a few swords but
not use them as form of civil disobedience
so that Jesus would be "numbered with the
transgressors"? (an "only criminals have guns"
kind of thinking) I see no sense that
Jesus intended for his
disciples to use them except as the
mildest form of deterrent. This opens
up a larger can of worms then we have
time to address today!

Jesus, however, is definitely not
suggesting using swords or arms
to carry out the mission of
preaching the gospel. The
possession of arms seems limited
to a personal sword, if anything, and not
a military uprising. (see the
American Thinker's series of articles
of pacifism & Christianity) When Peter starts
to have his interest piqued at the
idea of swords, Jesus quickly
squelches him by saying, "it is
enough"...(the two swords carried
by the group). The fact that Jesus
disciples even had two swords among
them is interesting.

I'm wondering if Jesus is acknowledging
that the world is indeed evil, and
that protecting oneself is part of
human nature. Perhaps He might be
saying that if you want to carry
a sword, do it, but don't get carried
away with it, and don't rely on it,
and ABSOLUTELY don't use it to
enforce His message. I still think
He is calling us to a higher place.

I think it is fair to say that in His
saying,"It is enough" there is a strong
message of distaste and that Jesus is
really wanting people to go to a
deep place of trusting God--again,
something that cannot be legislated
and something that He is not willing
to demand of His followers, but prays
they will come to (and will not be able
to come to without the outpouring
of the coming Holy Spirit).

So Jesus could be saying, "use a sword
as protection if you feel that you must,
but know there is a higher path."
The interesting thing is that after
the incident in the Garden of Gethsemane
with Peter and the ear, there is no
tradition I know of in the early
church of Christians using violence or
even protecting themselves. At worst
they simply flee from the threat.
Apparently they got the
message loud and clear!

Of course, later we have the
ugliness of the crusades, and violent
encounters with Muslims, another whole
sad story in itself, but that is much later and
the violent actions of the crusades cannot
be traced back the the purest teachings
of Jesus. Now I am really close to
volatile subjects, so back to "Should
a Christian defend him or herself?
And should a Christian defend someone
in his or her care, especially a child?

Obviously, the use of non-violence to
stop violence and evil is a great call.
Sometimes that can be accomplished by
using the spoken authority that God
grants us in the Name of Jesus. We
can use prayer, use love, use peace as
the weapons we fight with. Do they
produce the same results as a magnum?
No. And you need to be at peace with that.

Other times we might use physical
force that is not deadly to protect
ourselves or an innocent bystander.
Sometimes we may simply put ourselves
and our loved ones in God's hands, even
if that means losing our earthly lives.
Many of the people, however, that I spoke with
in preparing this article felt like
they would use physical force to
protect a child or someone in their
care.

Francis Schaeffer says,
“I am to love my neighbor as myself,
in the manner needed, in the midst of
the fallen world, at my particular point
in history. This is why I am not a
pacifist. Pacifism in this poor world
in which we live – this lost world –
means that we desert the people who
need our greatest help . . . I come
upon a big burly man beating a tiny
tot to death . . . I plead with him to
stop. Suppose he refuses? What does
love mean now? Love means that I stop
him in any way that I can, including
hitting him. To me, this is not only
necessary for humanitarian reasons;
it is loyalty to Christ’s commands
concerning Christian love in a fallen
world. What about the little girl?
If I desert her to the bully, I have
deserted the true meaning of Christian
love – responsibility to my neighbor."

At what point does this break
down or does it? Is this what
love really means, that I resort
to violence to stop violence?
(Of course, if someone were hurting
a child or an innocent in front of
me I would probably hit them
over the head with a baseball bat and not
think twice...but then this is why
I am prayerfully pondering this issue!)

During the Second World War, Dietrich
Bonhoeffer, a Lutheran pastor, was
involved with the plot to kill Hitler.
If we have a chance, as a Christian,
to prevent the slaughter of hundreds
if not millions of people, should we
use that chance even if it involves
deadly force? Could you pull the trigger
on Hitler to save millions of Jews?
I'm surprised? sorry? to say that
I might say I might do that also.
I'm really not sure. God help us!

These are weighty questions. A pastor
is responsible for his congregation
before God. Perhaps it is up to each
individual pastor to pray and seek
God as to what God would have him
do. When it comes to defending myself
there seems to be less of an urgency,
for while I would not want to lose my
life or be hurt, I can know that I
am in the hands of God and perhaps
more ready to meet Him then my attacker
is.

Perhaps there are no easy answers other
than going to God and doing what He tells you!

I leave you with two powerful thoughts,
"If is is possible, as much as depends
on you, live peaceably with all men.
Beloved, do not avenge yourselves,
but rather, give place to [God's] wrath:
for it is written: Vengeance is Mine,
I will repay: says the Lord. Therefore,
if your enemy is hungry, feed him,
and if he is thirsty, give him a drink,
For in so doing you will heap coals
of fire on his head. " Do not be
overcome with evil, but overcome
evil with good. (Romans 12:18-21).

And,

"Pursue peace with all people, and
holiness, without which no one
shall see the Lord" (Heb. 12:14).

May your journey be free of strife
and sheltered from worldly turmoil,
but know, no matter what, that you
are safely in the hands of God.
Do not succumb to the world's ways
but follow the highest path Christ
sets before you.

Strive to walk in the highest
grace possible for you will
walk in the long line of those
of whom it is fitly said, "the
world is not worthy" (Hebrews 11:38).
The only bloodshed that should
truly be ours is the bloodshed of our
own prayerful striving against sin,
(Heb. 12:4)--even as Jesus sweat great drops
of blood as He wrestled with absolute
obedience to God. (Luke 22:44).


pacifism
Luke 22:35-38
Christians and violence
churches and violence
Christian persecution
non-violence and Christianity
compromised gospel
Romans 12:18-21
Hebrews 12:14

Violence in The Church: Should Churches Have Armed Guards? Part 1

In the wake of the recent Colorado
Springs shootings in the church,
and nearby YWAM missionary society,
I have been thinking much about how
Christians should respond to
violence both on an an individual
and a congregational level.

This is the first of two articles
on my musings.

I have talked with a wide
variety of Christians about
this issue and have received
nothing but thoughtful, prayerful
answers. The answers do not come
to the same conclusions and I
am not saying that the conclusion
that I have come to is the conclusive
one. I urge you to take this matter
to the Lord, and if you are a
pastor or Christian leader, I
ask you to take it to the Lord
on behalf of your congregation.

I am here in Colorado Springs
for the holidays. My somewhat
uneducated opinion of Colorado
is that it still retains a bit
of the wild, wild West in it.
I sense that Coloradians value
their individual and corporate
rights and that many would be
willing to fight for those
rights. In this respect Coloradians
are like most Americans.

The church that experienced
the shootings in Colorado was
Ted Haggard's church. It already
had a history of controversy and
being such a large congregation
decided that it needed
armed guards for the safety of
its members and guests. Many
other churches, no doubt,
have decided the same thing.

The question is, is this what
Christ would have us to do?
Is our duty to protect the
people who come into our churches
or to uphold the high standards
of the gospel which might ask us
to respond in a different manner?
Does resorting to violence or
even the potential of
violence violate the spirit
of what Christ calls us to?

Today, large gatherings of people are
typically protected by armed
guards. If we go into a stadium
or a music event etc., there are
armed guards who are there to
protect us. Should the church
follow suit or are we different?

When the Amish school children were
murdered a few years ago, that
community held up a high testimony
to the world in how it handled
the violence. It forgave the murderer
and reached out the family of
the person who committed the crime.

Part of the calling of the Church
is to be set apart from the world
and to show the world that Christians
live by a different standard. We
should know and testify to the fact
that we are in God's hands, no
matter what.

If we use the world's methods to
protect the church, then how are
we different from the world?
What message are we sending--
that we need to help God out
in defending people? Or, because
the world is fallen, do we need
to have "common sense" about violence?

Even implicit in that last idea
is the idea that love is not
strong enough to meet with
violence and win. I ask you,
what is "winning"? If the church
resembles the world in all its
undertaking, then how is it still
the church?

Do you want your church to resort
to armed guards to protect you?
Do you want these guards to be members
of your own church or outside
agents? How would you or they
feel if a member of your church
had to shoot someone to protect
you? Or are you content to
put yourself in God's hands no
matter where you are, church
included, and simply trust God?

In the book of Daniel, when Daniel
and his three friends are faced
with the possibility of death
they respond thus, "God is able
to deliver us from the fiery
furnace,...but if not, let it
be known that we do not serve
your gods" (Daniel 3:17, 18).
When does there come a time
when the standard we uphold
is greater than life itself?
What exactly is the standard?

Is there a point that we as
the salt of the earth lose
our savor? Does a pastor have
a moral duty to protect
people, especially children,
or is that duty, in some
cases, superseded by a
higher standard? Do I have
the right to take another's
life even if he does me or
my family or congregation
harm?

Can we, and should we, be
employing non-violent means
to counter-attack violence?
What would these means be?
What are the weapons of
our warfare? Prayer?
Love? The Name of Jesus?

A couple of the people I
discussed this with had
had their lives threatened
in very real ways (both by
knives). Both felt they
used the authority that
God has given believers
to disarm the situation
(i.e. commanding them in
Christ's name to put down
the knife). Do we walk in
the authority that God has
given us or do we resort
to worldly tactics in the
heat of battle?

There is a highly debated
passage in the gospel of
Luke (22: 35-38). When
Jesus was nearing the
end of His earthly ministry
He revamps what He tells
His disciples. He asks them
if they ever lacked anything
when He sent them out without
purse or money or swords.
They said they had not lacked.
Then he tells them that now
it is time to get a purse,
and a knapsack, and "he who
has no sword, let him sell
his garment and buy one' (vs. 36).
He also makes this rather
interesting comment:

"For I say to you that this
which is written must still be
accomplished in Me": "and He was
numbered with the transgressors"
(vs. 37). Now I am sure that
Jesus is not just saying that
so that He can manipulate
the prophecy into being fulfilled!

Is he actually telling them that
they will need a sword? And why
does it seem that He is connecting
the getting of the swords with
being numbered with the transgressors?

Jesus is, no doubt telling them
that their lives are about to get
more turbulent and the possibility
of violence administered against them
greater. Until now, Jesus' presence
protected His disciples when He was
on earth, but the Bridegroom
was leaving and the protected season
was ending. Now the disciples would
find themselves in a hostile world
and must be prepared for persecution.
But must they defend themselves with
a sword? When the disciples started
to pick up on what Jesus was saying
they produced two swords and Jesus
told them, "It is enough" (vs. 38).

Jesus never transgressed the Law.
He never sinned. Yet this twisted
world "numbered him with the sinners."
If they would do this to Jesus, then
what could the disciples expect?
And yet, Jesus way is not the way
of violence. Shortly after this,
Peter lops off the ear of the
high priest and Jesus patches it back on.

There is no evidence that the disciples
used violent force to preserve their
lives. There is no account of the
early disciples killing others to save
their own lives. Stephen is the first
martyr, and he offers no resistance.
All the other disciples, except John,
end their lives as martyrs. Either they
were lousy at swordfights or they did
not use arms to defend themselves.

So what is Jesus saying? It is not
easy to answer. It certainly does
not appear that He is advocating
violence but making us aware of
what life will be like. It is possible
that He is not legislating the higher law
of Love, but letting His followers
find it for themselves. If He had told
them, "never fight back" it might turn
into a legalistic pronouncement
rather than the radical relationship
to Himself. The coming Agency
of the Holy Spirit would soon completely
catapult their thinking and behavior
into a new realm. There is grace like
no other grace when we are faced with
our own death. To surrender to Christ,
and to choose to love at the moment of
our death, even, or especially, at the
hands of violent men, is such a high
calling that it cannot be demanded, but
must be a free offering of the heart.

No-one wants to die, but faced with
death we can become more like Christ
than at any other moments because
the stakes are so high: our life!
Jesus said, "No-one takes My life from
Me, I lay it down (John 10:18)," In one
sense we cannot make that claim, but in
another sense, no-one takes our life from
us, even if we are killed, because
we are in God's hands and we have
a larger kind of life: eternal life.

Jesus said, "He who lives by the
sword, dies by the sword" (Mat. 26:52)
as Peter tries to defend Him when
He is taken in the garden. Jesus
appeals to this line of thought:
"Don't you think I can pray to the
Father and have Him send more than
12 legions of angels to aid Me, but
then how would the scriptures be
fulfilled? (v. 53,54). Christ is
content to do the Father's will,
even if it means violence coming
against Him. He knows the violence
can only take so much from Him, only go
so far, only be so victorious, in
fact, not victorious at all.

Ultimate victory and vindication
lay in doing the will of God and
letting God take care of things.
So how much, if at all, do we
put our hands to things?

(Part Two continues this topic)
(your prayerful comments are welcome)

Luke 22:35-38
Christians and violence
churches and violence
Christian persecution
non-violence and Christianity
American Christianity
compromised gospel
pacifism
Colorado Springs violence in churches

Never Alone at Christmas: Always God, Faithfully God, God without Fail!

It's Christmas Eve and I am way
out of town and decided to walk
down to the local church which
advertised its 5 p.m. Christmas
Eve service on the banner outside.

It didn't matter to me what kind
of service it was or what kind
of denomination. It is Christmas:
something that all Christians
share together no matter how or
when they celebrate it.

I didn't know a soul and didn't
need to. I wasn't dressed up and
didn't want to be. And so I went,
and so I sat, and so I sang, and
so I pondered as I always do.
Some things never change.

I wondered, forgive me for my
boldness, how easily Jesus
rested in the hearts of those
around me. All I know is that
a warm reception for God is
really not all that common.
Having said that I hadn't
come to judge. I just wondered
because that is how I am.

Here is the picture for you:
Ancient Christmas hymns, familiar
and nostalgic, fill the air. Candle
glow reflects on faces young
and old. The uneasy ambience
of families together: some happily,
some dutifully. A little girl
with a red plaid dress staring at
the flame of a candle her parents
hold carefully for her. Her father
holds a young baby who did not
seem to fit the same color or
genetic scheme as the rest.
An old man in a wheelchair, singing
loudly, sitting near me, smelling
strongly of urine. The pastor
seemingly torn between the
desire to unabashedly believe and
the ugly pressured burden that comes
from who knows where, to be or at
least appear, spiritually not-to-sure.


He said that this was the night
that something divinely special happened
(although he added that it might be
hard to say exactly what that was.)
Indeed. I wildly disagree. What seemed
hard to say was how many discerned Jesus in
our midst tonight. Did others see
Him holding out His Hand to them?

But isn't this what Christmas
is all about? About a Light
shining in our darkness,
about hope in our despair,
about a Remedy for our
spiritual ignorance, dullness,
and inability to see? Isn't
Christmas about Jesus coming to
the very least of us, and who of
us in not the least, the blindest,
and the most in need?

He promised to be there if
only 2 or 3 really knew their
need of Him enough to gather
in His Name. I desperately
hoped that at least one other
person felt as needy as me.
If so, Jesus would be a shoe-in, no
matter what.

I thought of my home church and what
the Christmas sermon might be like.
I thought of the robust sermon that
must be dancing like a sugarplum in
the heart of my other exiled pastor.
But here I was, thousand of miles
away from both, just me and Jesus.

Before the service a lady caught me
looking at her and came, straightway,
as the King James says, toward me.
Rarely does someone give you such
a look of recognition. Rarely does
someone remember your name on the first
go. As the service ended, people started
to gather up their things, I started
to leave my seat and heard, unexpectedly,
my name called out. I turned to find
the same lady looking intently at me.
She smiled. At that moment I knew that
God had noticed, had met with me,
alone in a strange church, in an
unfamiliar town. It was God, always
God, faithfully God, without fail,
God who had and would always meet
with me. It is hard to know what
people do with Jesus. It is sobering
to think of what Jesus will do with
us. And yet where meek souls will
receive Him still, the dear Christ
enters in. That is the message of
Christmas.

Tonight I shall sleep in peace
in the arms of My Saviour. I
trust that you will, too. If you
are alone this Christmas, you
needn't be...simply call upon
the Lord. He sees all who call
upon Him! Merry Christmas!





Christmas
alone at Christmas

Awaiting Jesus at Christmas

Jesus, how we have waited for You!
This advent as we considered Your first coming,
now we long for Your second.

You who have ignited a fire on the earth
come and burst forth in our midst!

We have filled our lamps with oil,
it is You, our Lord, that we await
with great expectation.

O Come, Desire of Ages, come.
Come in fullness to inherit
all that the Father destines for You.

Fill our hearts.
Fulfill our souls.
Bring our spirits at last home.


photograph taken in Colorado Springs, Colorado

Colorado Springs
Christmas

Bible Study on the Book of Daniel: Lesson 3, Identifying Babylon

Book of Daniel Bible Study: Identifying
Babylon in Your Life: Daniel 1:1-17

Daniel determined that he would not fall
prey to the spirit and ways of Babylon.
Even in his captivity he had to determine
what was of God and what was not of God
and choose to serve God alone.
He had to set his face like flint against
the spirit of Babylon even while
surrounded on every side by Babylon.

Have you ever felt surrounded on all
sides by evil and ungodliness? Consider
Daniel. He was immersed in the ways of
Babylon but Babylon was not touching
him! How did he keep his heart separated
to God? Everything in our lives is
either leading us toward God or toward
Babylon. We have to discern and recognize
the spirit behind that which we let into
our hearts.

How is Babylon crossing your life?
We need to examine everything that
we let into our lives because, like a Trojan
horse, once Babylon comes in, it infiltrates
to conquer. We don't need to fear
Babylon, we just need to have good
sentries, and ironclad--indeed "Spirit-clad"
boundaries to separate us unto God.

What are you filled with? You only have
so much inner room, so much time, so
much strength. What is your life filled with?
Did you know that you can build for God
even in Babylon?

Our lives will become something--we need
to ask ourselves how will that happen and
what are we building? When we get to the
end of our days we will be something--either
something for God or something for Satan.
We have to make deliberate and conscious choices
or we will be swept toward that which
is mediocre or worse yet, entirely not of God.

Daniel understood this principle. Daniel
understood that spiritual discipline
would aid him greatly in keeping his
heart pure and focused on God. We have
to incorporate biblical practices and disciplines
into our lives that keep us pointed in
the right direction. It is so easy to
drift off course.

Daniel prayed and saw that he could use
the disciple of fasting to set his
heart toward God. He did not have
control over very much in his life.
He was fed that which the king saw fit
to feed him, and the king no doubt
felt he was giving Daniel the best
kind of food. Daniel knew otherwise:
perhaps he was asked to eat pork
or unclean things according to
the Law. Perhaps the food was not
prepared the way the Law stated it
should be. Are you partaking of
things that Babylon offers without
discrimination?


Daniel asked to fast from the
"dainty meat" that was brought to
him. Even then there was a myth
circulating that fasting would
make you weak and take your strength
(Daniel 1:10). We need to realize
that while fasting may deny
the physical body, it strengthens
the spirit when we look to the Lord
(Matthew 17:21, Is 58:6). Fasting
can free us to find or rekindle
our reliance on God alone and
to gaze upon Him unhindered.

Each time Daniel ate his meal
of vegetables he was reminded
who he served and where his
strength really came from:
The Lord God! We need disciplines
such as these to carry us through
our walk in the Babylon of this
world. What might God be asking
you to do so that your focus on
Him might be strengthened?

God is looking for a consistency
in our walk with Him. We cannot
be full of zeal one day, and
compromise the next! We cannot
be for God on Monday, and
for Babylon on Tuesday! We
need "a long obedience in the
same direction"! We have to
"purpose" in our hearts to
not be defiled (vs. 8)
or we will drift away from God.

Jonathan Edwards, the noted
revivalist, himself made a
long list of resolutions
to serve God. It is a formidable
list and one that might seem
impossible to adhere to. But
his heart was set toward the
Lord. He did not want to waste
one minute of his life with
lesser things.

Jesus will direct us, as we
seek Him, with guidance that
He tailor-makes for us. This
guidance is born out of the
relationship we maintain with
God minute by minute, day by
day, week by week, month by
month, year by year. Daniel
spent his whole life in Babylon
but Babylon never conquered him. God
knows the details of our life
and situation and He knows what
will keep us with Him. Ask the
Lord what He would have you do.
Avail yourself of His Spirit.

Often we are spiritually ignorant
and we fail to recognize
Babylon in our lives and Satan's
devises in our midst. We need
to examine everything in our
lives to see if it something
that God wants for us.

Often we do things, even
spiritual things, and only
have a vague idea why we
do them or if they are backed
up by scripture. We may have
a mixture of truth and untruth,
human wisdom mixed with
eternal truth. We should
allow God to test our beliefs.
"God helps those who help
themselves" The Lord works in
mysterious ways, etc": we have
many truisms that circulate in
our minds that are not true at
all or are only partly true.

Where is Babylon in our lives?
We must identify where it is
coming in, and we cannot do
this without the aid of the
Holy Spirit (Romans 8:5-11).

What does Babylon say to us:
That youth is desirable, that
being good looking is
what makes a leader, that
social status is important,
that intelligence will get
you to the top, that human
charisma is the same as
divine charisms (Daniel 1:4).

These were all the things that
the Babylonians looked for
when they chose leaders.
Is this not the same message
we hear in our culture today?
In some sense these things
are ok, but they are
not the ways of God. God
looks at the heart, He is
after a pure heart that is
set on Him. He does not
consider the outward man,
nor that which is politically
correct. He does not consider
your looks, your heritage,
your intelligence, your
ability to charm others
when He calls you. Daniel
became a hero of faith not
because of what he looked like
but because of his strong
trust in God.

We need to ask where Babylon has
infiltrated our thinking and
what we actually value. We can
identify some of the more gross
areas of things that are against
Christ but there are many subtle things
that we must test. We often
accept things and never bother
to see how they contradict
the message of the gospel.

There are many things that we
as Americans value and sometimes
they become entwined with what
we feel we should value as
Christians. How is the American
gospel different from the gospel
that Christ presents? How is
American Christianity different
from "mere" Christianity? When
you answer that question you
will uncover some of the blueprints
for Babylon's plan of attack in
your life. (Each culture, not
just Americans, has to look at
where it strays from the Lord).

American Christians often speak
much about family values, about
being a good "witness", about
being full of purpose and practical
vision. We stress balance, happiness,
and tolerance. We seem to want to
make the gospel palatable so that
people will be able to say "yes" to
it without undue inward change.
Jesus is often seen as someone
who will help us become a better
version of ourselves--who will help
with our problems, give us financial
and spiritual counsel, an occasional
tip for the stock market, find us a house
in the suburbs and a parking place
near the door, all from a
safely hidden seat in the bleachers.
Let me tell you, from everything
I know about Jesus, that is certainly
not what He is about!

We want to be seen as committed
to the Lord but not seen as fanatical.
We want to seem balanced but not
overly mystical. We say we value
a bold voice but we are very quick
to avoid confrontations. We want
to be seen as appealing to the man
in the street, even when the man
in the street in no way shares our
worldview. How will that work?

As Americans we seem to draw our
boundaries around what is already
there, around the status quo of
what we assume is good, rather then
staking out what God has told
us He values and letting
everything we do and believe fall
into place around that. I challenge
you to read the teachings of Jesus
and you will soon see quite a variance
with some of our most cherished
assumptions about family relations,
patriotism, and sucess.

So much pulls us away from
the ways of God.

What spiritual disciplines might
God be calling you to in order to
create a watchfulness against the
invasion of Babylonian values within you?

What reminders do you have in your
life that you belong to the Lord and
not to Babylon?

How can you make a stand for God in
your life?

What things are talked about in the
first chapter of Daniel that helped
Daniel stand in the place that he
should?

How do you think you can live "in
the world" and not 'of it"? (John 17:14&15).

How can I make use of Babylon to help me
serve the Lord whole-heartedly? God allows
us to be in Babylon and He can cause us
to build up a resistance against evil.
Our hearts can be completely purposed
to obey only the Lord. Babylon can keep
us close to God by driving us into a
continual dependence upon Him. We desperately
need God ALL the time but when things are
easy we can fall into self-reliance and an
unguarded complacency.

Let us begin to use our sojourn in Babylon
to build spiritual muscle, purpose, discipline
and determination to serve God wholeheartedly.

(this bible study is a continuation
of a Bible Study on the book of Daniel,
further installments are archived in
this blog under "Daniel Bible Study"
and "Bible"


Daniel
Book of Daniel
Bible Study Book of Daniel
Babylon
faith in difficult times
Jonathan Edwards resolutions
American Christianity
compromised gospel
spiritual disciplines
fasting

Immanuel: God with Us

"Mary PONDERED all these things in
her heart." Quiet, Happy spirit,
weigh in thy heart the grand truth
that Jesus was born at Bethlehem.
Immanuel, God with us;—weigh it
if you can; look at it again and
again, examine the varied facets
of this priceless brilliant, and
bless, and adore, and love, and
wonder, and yet adore again this
matchless miracle of love.

. . . Come and worship God manifest
in the flesh, and be filled with his
light and sweetness by the power of
the Holy Spirit, Amen.


——Charles H. Spurgeon (1834-1892).
"The Great Birthday"
TWELVE CHRISTMAS SERMONS DELIVERED
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE.

photo taken in Colorado Springs, (on top of
someone's house) :)

Charles Spurgeon
Colorado Springs
nativity

The First Real Snow

A prison cell, in which one waits,
hopes - and is completely dependent
on the fact that the door of freedom
has to be opened from the outside,
is not a bad picture of Advent"
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer

the season's first snowfall
in Feeding Hills, Massachusetts

advent
Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Bible Study on the Book of Daniel: Lesson Two

Bible Study on the Book of Daniel: Lesson Two

Alone with God in Babylon

Daniel finds himself in the most difficult of
places and circumstances. In a sense, he is
chosen to be trained in the enemy's camp,
chosen to fight for the enemy's purposes.
What gives Daniel the strength to serve God?

When Judah fell to the Babylonians some must
have thought that God had failed them, despite
the many warnings of impending judgment by
the prophets. We often discern a situation based
on our mindset and predisposition. It would be easier
to "see" that God failed rather than to see and
acknowledge that this was God's corrective judgment.
It is easier to rail at God then to acknowledge your sin!

Daniel clearly saw that this horrendous national
tragedy (the exile) was not God's fault and that
God was still sovereign and all powerful. He was able
to serve God without compromise. He was able to
make peace with his situation and not complain.
If this were you, how would you feel? How would
you cope? Would you think that serving in Babylon
was something to be rebelled against? How would you
see God in it? How do you see God in the Babylon
in your life?

Just as the treasures of the temple of God were
taken into the house of an alien god, so Daniel and
his friends, living treasures in the temple of God,
were taken into the house of an alien god. Thank
God they did not let themselves worship that
god! Here's why:

1) Daniel discerned God rightly. He was not tempted
into a syncretism: a melding of God and the gods
of Babylon. He rightly saw the Lord in
His holiness and set himself apart to God.

2) Daniel knew his heritage and found fellowship
with others who had set themselves to serve God
alone. He knew he did not belong to Babylon.
He was a captive in their system but he still
belonged to God and would still serve Him alone.
He had the fellowship of his 3 friends to gird him up.

3) Daniel cut off all ties with idolatry and set
his heart to serve the Lord. He used spiritual
discipline (fasting) to keep his heart set upon
the Lord and hold up a standard of being set apart.

We have to be fully the Lord's! We can receive
all the training. all the fellowship, all the great
preaching and teaching in the world, but there
comes a time when we must follow the Lord
ourselves. Our leaders, our family, our mentors,
cannot do for us what we need to do ourselves.
We need to make an uncompromised
commitment to God and sustain it in whatever
situation we find ourselves in.

If we translate Daniel's situation into a
modern day counterpart, we see how
precarious it was. The school that Daniel
was in was not unlike the "Hogwart's
School of Magical Arts." The Chaldeans
were masters of the mystic arts. In fact,
Daniel was in the middle of a "new age"
hotbed when it was still old age wizardry.

The Chaldeans taught astrology as well
as astronomy, "reading livers" as well
as practical medicine, a major in sorcery
with a minor in gourmet non-kosher
culinary arts! How in the world was
Daniel going to make it through this maze
and remain faithful to God? He did it by
walking in the power of the Lord!

While Christians shun "new age" practices,
and often rightly so, they often do not
have the working answer of God's power to
cast down the occult power of sorcery,
or repel the unharnessed power of the
human soul without God. If Daniel merely
had a faith of words, he would have been in
trouble. Daniel walked in the power of
God! He had the real thing, while the others
had the counterfeit, and the real
thing would come in mighty handy as we
shall see in the second chapter.

A Christian walking in the power of God
has nothing to fear from a hearty
spiritual challenge. He does not have to
worry that God will not come through
or that he will be overwhelmed by an evil
force greater than the Holy Spirit. There is no
such greater force! The Kingdom of God
is not meat and drink but righteousness,
peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:7).

Daniel was able to do his spiritual apprenticeship,
taught of God, even in the middle of the occult
arts taught in the classroom. I find this both
amazing, and reassuring! Here is an example
for Christian students who must attend a
secular school, for Daniel was not merely
in a secular school, but in a pagan school
that practiced sorcery! He was still untouched.
Can we be taught of God even in the
classrooms of pagans? Apparently, YES! Daniel was.
Why? Because his heart was firmly set on
God and he inquired continually of the Lord.
Even, and I think it fair to say, especially,
in Babylon he was taught of God. There was an
extra keen connection between him and his
God that might not have been quite
so sharp in a safer setting. It is not so much
WHAT he studied but what absolute allegiance to
God he carried within him and with what attitude of
heart he approached it. There is no discipline
that God does not have a word for. There is
no subject material that God cannot educate us about.

As the Spirit of God rises up strong in us, our
faith will be less and less about correct doctrines
and wars of words, but of the power of God at
work in and through us. Our lives will hold forth
a demonstration of the Lord's power. Just as
Peter said, "Silver and gold have I none, but
such as I have, give I thee, in the name
of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!"
(Acts 3:6).

The thing is, we need to be absolutely sure
we can sort that which is of God, from that
which is of Babylon. Of course we have to
stay completely away from things God
forbids in His word, but that is a proximity
of spirit and not of physical distance. We can
serve God anywhere, even in Babylon, we just
need to make sure that Babylon is not in us!

Here are a few guidelines to think about as
we approach anything we put our
head, hands and heart to.

1) Does it stay within the boundaries God
has set for us as revealed in His Word?
(Deut 6:6-9).

2) Does the power originate from God
or man or the demonic? Power issues are
always at the heart of things. Who is being
glorified? How is the power issuing forth?
Is it human soul strength or the power of
God? Sometimes these things are not
easily discerned but if you keep watching,
the source behind things will be revealed.
(Acts 8: 9-24) (Acts 16:16:-34).

3) Does it come from an understanding that
without God we can do nothing and that
we should not act independently from Him?
Does it call for wholehearted reliance
and commitment to Him? (John 5:19) (John 15:4-5).


4) Does it honor God or honor man? Does
it cause me to worship man or worship God
in Spirit and in truth? (John 4:23 & 24).

5) Does it honor and recognize Jesus Christ
as the sole Source of its workings?
(obviously in Daniel's day, Jesus had not
yet come in the flesh, but now He has, thank God!)
( 1 John 4:1ff).

6) Does it build relationship with God as He is,
or is it a system of works or something
we have concocted? (John 1:14-17) (Acts 15: 1-11).

7) Is it completely the truth or is there a lie in it?
(I John 2:18-23).

8) Is holiness its hallmark? (I John 3:3-10).

We need not fear that we will be deceived but
can call upon God's Spirit to teach us and
guide us into all truth. No matter where we are
we can walk in the power of God--even in Babylon.

Father, make us Daniels in our generation. Cause
us to stand strong in You, no matter what happens,
no matter where we find ourselves!

(this bible study is a continuation
of a Bible Study on the book of Daniel,
further installments are archived in
this blog under "Daniel Bible Study"
and "Bible"


Daniel
Book of Daniel
Bible Study Book of Daniel
Babylonian Captivity
faith in difficult times

Bible Study on The Book of Daniel: Lesson 1

The Book of Daniel


The Book of Daniel speaks volumes to
our contemporary situation. Daniel was
only about 15 years old when he was taken
into captivity and placed in the inner
courts of Babylon to be trained and
brainwashed into the ways of Babylon.
His uncompromised stand for God is an
example to us all.

Background: God had warned His people
through the prophets that if they did
not turn back to Him they would be
taken into captivity. They did not
repent and Judah was taken into the
Babylonian Captivity which took place
from about 605-536 B.C. The Northern
Kingdom had already fallen to the
Assyrians in 722 B .C. [Israel had
two kingdoms: the northern (Israel)
and the Southern (Judah).]



Josiah, (reigns in Judah 641-609) a good
king, is killed at the battle of Megiddo,
this is a story in itself as it seems that
he dies unnecessarily when he does not discern
or heed the voice of God speaking through a
pagan ruler! (2 Chron. 35: 20ff). Josiah
sought to rid Israel of false idols. A series
of bad kings, who are easily compromised
and overtaken by that which is not of God, come next.



Daniel’s determination to stand for God is
an amazing testimony to God’s ability
to keep a person’s heart pure and unadulterated
even if they find themselves in the most dire
circumstances. What contributed to Daniel’s
faithful stand for God?

Tumultuous, life-changing events happened to
Daniel at a most impressionable age. In the
midst of a idolatrous nation, ready to reap
God’s chastisement and go into exile, who was
it that influenced Daniel in a godly way?

Was it Josiah, the good king, who sought to
rid Judah of idolatry? Was it the voice
of one of the prophets, Jeremiah perhaps,
crying out in the streets? Was it godly
parents or an unknown someone or someones who
remained true to God and held up a standard
in the midst of idolatry? We shall not know
until that Great Day when all things are
revealed, but we can know that SOMEONE
influenced him.



Questions: Who has influenced your
spiritual life? Who has mentored you
spiritually? What affects have they had
on you and what qualities have they
imparted to you? Who we hold up as our
spiritual models will greatly mold who
we become. Of course our only true Model
is Jesus, yet He has called us to disciple
others and model Him to others. Are those
who have most affected us spiritually true
followers of Jesus?



Try and name the people you think have
most influenced your walk with the Lord
and look to see how their influence has
helped make you who you are. What godly
values and characteristics of Jesus have
they imparted to you? What message have
they left you with? Is any of it from
Babylon? Are you pleased with how it has
affected you? More importantly, is God
pleased with it? If not, perhaps you
should pray and discern more seriously the
band that you want to throw your lot in
with! Choose the most godly and the
least compromised people you know to
journey with. They will affect you in
ways that you do not know!



DANIEL CHOSEN FOR SERVICE IN
BABYLON (DANIEL chapter 1: 1-7)

When the Babylonians assumed power
they chose a group of young men of
Judah who they would train up to
rule in the ways of Babylon. Daniel
and three of his friends were
chosen. The friends names were
Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. Part
of the indoctrination process was to
give these young men a Babylonian name.
This served to tempt them to take a
new identity, to forget who they were
and what their heritage was.

Daniel’s name means “God is my Judge”,
the name that was given to him in
Babylon was Belteshazzar, which meant
“Bel protect the King, or Prince of Bel”;

Hananiah’s name means “The Lord is
Gracious”, his Babylonian name was
Shadrack, which meant Command of Aku
or Servant of Sin (a god);

Mishael’s name means “Who is like the
Lord?”, his Babylonian name was Meschach
which means “Who is like Aku?”

Azariah’s name means “The Lord is My
Helper”, his Babylonian name was
Abednego which means “servant of Nego”.

God has a name for you. His name for
you contains your godly identity. In
Revelation 2:17, God promises to give
those who overcome a white stone with
their new name written on it. Have you
ever considered what your new name
might be? God has an identity for you
that will lead you to life, that will
cause you to inherit that new name.

Babylon also has a name picked out
for you, but it will lead to death.
Which name will you identify with?
What name does Babylon want to give
you? I urge you heartily to reject
that name!

What is God’s call to me? What is
Babylon’s call to me? Daniel decided,
he determined (vs 8), that he would
serve God alone. You and I are surrounded
by Babylon. Thank God we are not held in
a captivity we cannot get out of, but
Babylon can get into us either by a slow,
unnoticed process, or because we accept
its values without even knowing it.

We have to make a conscious, deliberate
stand for God. We must know our God and
what His standards are. In what way do
you feel God calling you to make a stand?

Babylon calls us to conform to its
system in a number of ways:

1) pressure to actively conform to the
expectations of the system. Daniel was
brought into a structured system. He was
expected to obey. In what ways might you
be expected to obey the system of this
world? How will or how do you deal with it?
How will you be in the world and not of it?

2) pressure to just get used to the system.
At first we might oppose Babylon and its
ways but after time goes by we become
acclimated and fail to see how we are being
influenced. It is like the proverbial
lobster slowly being boiled to death in a
pot. We can start out well but end up
compromised.

3) pressure to act to protect myself and
my family. Daniel’s family was being held
in captivity also. If he did not behave
himself, then harm could come to his family.
Our natural inclination to protect our
family and ourselves can lead to compromise.
Daniel never compromised. Would I compromise
what God asks of me in order to protect
myself or my family?

4)pressure to pridefully view ourselves
as strong and gifted . Daniel was chosen
because he met the criteria Babylon valued.
He had many fine attributes and talents.
They did not know that Daniel had an
inner strength and calling that would
not work to their advantage. The world
can try and compliment us on our strengths
so that it can use them for its own
purposes. We have to have allegiance to
God alone and use our gifts only as He
directs. Have you ever been complimented
by the world’s system and found it to
be a hook?

5)pressure to adopt man’s ways and not
God’s ways. Daniel lived 24/7 in a system
that was designed to change him into what
the Babylonian’s wanted. How does the system
we live in want us to change? How are we
tempted to adopt man’s ways and not
God’s ways?

6) pressure to be passive and not active
in our opposition to Babylon. Daniel
could have sat back and not said anything.
He could have held his faith quietly to
himself. He never did. Do we ever remain
quiet when we should speak up?

Spend some time considering these points
and thinking about the position that
Daniel was in and how uncompromised his
heart was. I believe that the message
presented in this book is a contemporary
one that speaks to our current life
situation in America.

Father, show us how we can stand for
You, uncompromised, in a world system
that opposes You. Give us strength,
wisdom and insight, just as you gave
to Daniel.

(this bible study is the first installment
of a Bible Study on the book of Daniel,
further installments are archived in
this blog under "Daniel Bible Study"
and "Bible"


Daniel
Book of Daniel
Bible Study Book of Daniel
Babylonian Captivity
faith in difficult times