Time out for glory

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Let us give ourselves break. If the glory of God is nowhere on the map of religious excellence we should consider the idea that it will come from a rapist, papist, racist entity, dead on arrival.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14

Give yourself a breath of fresh air.

Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses’ face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, 2 Corinthians 3:7

Sifting time

When we do not know where the truth is or take little time to sift out the commentary the marketplace is offering, we can conclude that the insignificant is most significant. Solomon’s temple was a wonder. People cried when they saw its replacement. The difference was that striking, says Haggai 2:3

Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? How do you see it now? Is it not as nothing in your eyes?

Yet it was to this homely version of the place for the divine name that God himself said he would come (Haggai 2:7)

And I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord of hosts.

Time runs out in favour of the original house plan

Time comes to the rescue because the 2nd temple is today a heap and we have to conclude that the Lord cannot come and fill a nonexistent house with glory, because he has glorified himself in his new and living temple.

Since the Sinai arrangement was temporary and inferior the sirens are wailing out the news. Here are Peter and Paul on house glory.

you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 2:5

And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit. Ephesians 2:20-22

Knowing When to Quit

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After the most complicated and exhaustive biblical research projects (that includes the simplest word studies) the results have to be simple and final. Much of the insecurity surrounding the quest for peace and stability comes from keeping alive senseless and distracting clichés and maxims. Public legislation and the principles of the kingdom of God are never going to be married, and even with the demise of all the great powers on record and the decadence of the rising powers our leaders do not know when to quit.

Many shocking surprises

The number of public figures who are secretly racist, misogynist, or just plain corrupt is alarming. All the vacuous statements about patriotism, diversity and security do not amout to a spoonful of milk. The number of Canadians and Americans who have never renounced the bigotry learned from their parents is a crucial question. May you never have to deal with the fact that the spiritual leader of your faith community is a shallow, poorly educated bigot.

Showing off the locks and not the door

Apparently, shameful lying about what one has and knows does not register on the sensors of some holy individuals. God is not looking the other way while the supposedly guys scrape away the last layer of decency and intelligence and date to call their plagiarism and majoring in minors ‘excellence’. There is still a steady stream of definitions of God that stretch imagination of Christ’s disciples, fouling up the air with a chain of childish things and an unvarnished malice towards those for whom Christ died. When there is more prison and death than liberty and life on one’s mind quitting time cannot be far off.

But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves. Matthew 23:13-15

Eyes on the Lies Rally

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The steady stream of terroristic moves we see in the public square are not independent from the private myths we have allowed into our private lives. Every rally, revival, and reform movement can be shown to have been mostly feel good moments in both political and evangelistic activities, and less to do with guarding the precious heritage that the founders of our nations and Christ left for us.

Why does anyone who has been pardoned of all things contrary to the divine pleasure still believe that God does not close the book on individual sin? They believe that Exodus 34:7 is the abiding condition under which God interacts with his people in every age.

Forgive vs condemn

keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.

Who does God clear? Who does he bring to life? Who does he hear? Who does he love?

  1. Is it not the guilty and ungodly?
  2. Is it not the dead?
  3. Is it not all who call on him?
  4. Is it not the world?

Rally to the Cross, not the Crowd

Who looks at the Crucified and see a thumbs up to racist xenophobic misogynist? Pharisees like James who think that zeal for the Law of Moses plays a part in the salvation of the world.

It is a Pharisee mindset that tries to keep up the wall of partition between those who have come to God and those who are yet to come. The faith of Jesus Christ is neither a political race nor a commendation of any tribal performance. The new and changed world must come from changed hearts, not from legislation. The less we have to learn and explain the more we grow. It is a wide road that leads to distinction. The words from God’s mouth are few and easy to find (if that is what we deem to be lifegiving). The words of prophets, patriarchs, and sages are all over the landscape. I am sure that God’s mouth is neither on loan or up for grabs.

To what are we saying amen these days?

Whose self-talk keeps clashing with the voice of the thunder from on high? Hopefully our own and not someone else’s popular Christless glitter?

Dead or Alive

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Of all the bits that go into the accurate identity of his disciples this ID card is truly marvelous and elicits from the believer to a grateful and joyful “Yes!” “God’s work” is not a popular way of introducing ourselves but it is arresting, full of consolation and assurance.

For we are his workmanship (poiema, ποίημα), created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10

God prepared our works

Did he need to say “beforehand “? Yes. Someone will say “Prepare is always ‘before’ “. True, but the intention of the writer is to further (see vs. 8) caution people against claiming responsibility for the works that proceed from God’s creation. Not only does he save us apart from any work we have done or are required to perform, but he also takes the initiative to prepare the good works of the new life.

The Father’s poem – the result of grace

There is little room for misunderstanding God’s saving and keeping grace. He has hemmed us in most securely by anticipating our need and our quasi-intelligent objections. We love credit even when we aren’t in the game.

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand (proetoimazo, pro + hetoimazo, προετοιμαζω) that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10

What are the chances that Lazarus helped the Lifegiver call him forth from his grave of four days? Are today’s good works subject to condition and human invention and choice? What are the chances of anyone but Yahweh removing the cherubim and flaming sword the gate to Eden?

Out of the Box

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The title is a variation of out of the gutter, the gutter being the place where the waste fringe our necessary process are channeled away from us. I think that few people want to be in a box, or dependent on a box, and definitely not terrorized by a box. However, life is stranger than human imagination. Box theology is the basis for a large portion of beliefs regarding spiritual things. How it eludes the seeker that there is no merit for doing nothing that offends is part of the mystery. The distinction of being perfectly harmless and sinless belongs to Christ. The rest of humanity needs to admit that Christ has brought that debate to a conclusion.

No life except from Christ

The ark and its contents may attract a great deal of attention in our times, just as other groups have sacred objects with which they invest a lot of confidence, but it was prophesied a long time ago that people will not ever even remember it or speak of it. The warrant then for all the talk about the commandments of God and especially those commandments that were written on stone must be satanic.

Our pledges, determination and commitment to not offend God do not bring a single ray of sunshine to our lives, yet this is where most Christians claim to live.

Puffed up and ready to pop

There is a genuine lack of humility which may be due, in part, to the idea that God fixes everything when he gives us access to his riches. Imagine the present world to be free of illness, tears, hungry people, death and sorrow, and we are in prime Christian territory. When we ask believers if they are holy or unholy, sinners or perfected humans, we begin to see what box theology has done to cripple those seeking the Way to God.

Which of the ten words in the ark gives life to the dead?

Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses’ face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory? 2 Corinthians 3:7-8

Has not Moses given you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. Why do you seek to kill me? John 7:19

Three strikes – nix the box

If the people who studied and praised the law for hundreds of years failed to do what it says, there is no hope for a sound interpretation of what the law says.

  1. Few people who can actually read it intelligently.
  2. To what end is our interest in what was a fading glory when Moses mediated it?
  3. None of the ten words gives life to the dead

Not another successful loser

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Remember Bush and Palin? Successful state officials but clueless about being honest and helpful. Their knowledge base was a loser’s shallow pool.

Business savvy is rape

I see the Starbucks CEO trying to convince the American people that the rich have their interests heart.

Don’t buy it America. Look at the 45th.

Lying, thieving, destroyer.

I see slaves not wanting to be free.

I see the violent exploiting every one

Neither the rich nor the powerful can be expected to repent.

Time has run out for those Christians who settled for a platform of opposing the murder of the unborn and hating foreigners.

Good judeo-christlesness

or

Slut Babylon fall?

Way Home

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How much longer can the effective face of religion stay veiled may be related to the concept of God. As Christians we testify to God’s fatherhood. I suspect other people who are either spiritually minded or even socially sensitive will testify to other types of relationships with a supreme being or to no supreme being.

Ways to say

Clichés like change the world or accept Jesus as saviour and Lord have helped to keep the facts out of sight. Even accept the message, being a well-intentioned view (from Isaiah 53:1, “Who believes our report?” ) can be a pretty mixed up report package that shuts out the original intent. The world will be the same until the end of the age and those in the world who call on God believing on his Son have immediate release from sin and death.

The troubled waters

Religions are killing us. Once we thought that a good guide to the religions of the world would open our eyes to a remarkably attractive and functional way of life.
Do you see the bridge between Islam and Judaism? Good eyes, if you do. That must be the hope deposited in you. Do you see the bridge between the Way and Judaism? Superb eyes, if you do, because Judaism may not be dragging followers of the Way out of their homes and off to prison and worse, but we both know that the ice on the lake is thin and the passions are extremely complex. As long as we disagree, the claims of God’s ancient witnesses seem unrealistic.

Temporary relief for the common ills

Many Christians are more into Judaism than they are into the Nazarene himself, and few of us are expecting the Rabbinate to announce that Jesus is the Messiah. The bar is higher than the mutual respect we say we champion. Respect for others does not come easily in a life defined by tribal pride – and by respect, I do not mean staying away from meaningful contact as proof that we are not trying to silence the other.

A sin forgiven is worth more all the blessings combined . Forgiveness of sins will eventually be the issue that forces us all to the grace of God, because it is the same problem that all humans face, and it is the one for which we have no effective remedy. That same sin repeatedly forgiven must be the glory of God because he is the God of the proverbial 490th chance.

Something has to change if we are going to experience the life-blood that keeps us safe while death surrounds us and sin besets our nature and behaviors. We have a saviour whose primary move made possible an uncomplicated way hone possible for all peoples.