Losing Interest with the power of the World - Part 3.1

What happened when you were baptized?
This may seem like a strange question but let's think about it for a minute. Many know that at our baptism we were not saved or cleansed of our sinfulness. Many also know that at our baptism we gained a public identity with Christ. Our new identity is what I desire to write about today.
How much have we really taken seriously this concept of new identity?
While reading Mere Discipleship, I believe I have found one of the best descriptions of what this new identity really means. The reality comes with letting the familiarity with which we often read Galatians 3:27-28 be challenged by God the Holy Spirit. Familiarity with texts can get us into such a rut that we do not see the sins that entangle us. We need to approach God's word to be challenged in our sinfulness and encouraged in our faithfulness not merely one or the other. If both are not happening when we live our relationship with the Creator then we may be missing most of what He wants us to read, see, understand and live.
In Mere Discipleship, Lee C. Camp reminds disciples that baptism brings a shift in our existence that is paramount. Baptism is our public declaration that we are not longer aligned with the trappings of this world but are aligned with the kingdom of God, the way of Jesus. "Baptism inducts one into a community with certain specific requirements, a community of discipleship." Baptism without discipleship then is not Christian baptism rather it is merely getting wet.
The baptized who are in Christ are now citizens not of American Christian culture but citizens of the Kingdom of the one true King. Baptism radically dramatizes that our allegiance has changed form the ways of the world to the ways of the kingdom of God: loving and pursuing the enemies of God as God loves and pursues His enemies. "The baptism that we are apart of beckons us to act against imperial mandates, reject infant baptism, refuse allegiance with the government, and refusing to war against the enemies of the empire. The baptism the Word of God calls us to be apart of makes us brothers and sisters of a 'new humanity.'"
The heart of baptism, the baptism in the Christ Jesus, is "all division, all the social groupings, all the forms of identity that serve to categorize, divide, estrange, and alienate one from the other-- these are broken down. There is, for those who have been clothed with Christ in baptism, a new identity, an identity that transcends race, economic class, ethnic grouping, and citizenship." Baptism takes an axe to the root of the tree of cultural imperialism and labeling we so often cling to.
If we are truly baptized into this biblical baptism then "we are to be the church, a baptized community walking always in the way of Christ, offer in the hope of redemption to a world trapped under the domination of those principalities and powers desperately clinging to an illusion of control." This baptism "inducts one into a new humanity, a new social order, a new way of existing in the world." By the world's standards "race, sex, denomination, family, and citizenship can all become levers for exclusion--and subsequently, a means of oppression. Baptism does not induct us into a group that seeks to wield power and control over others." The truly baptized are the 'new humanity' of the world proclaiming love, reconciliation, and forgiveness which sows peace and inclusiveness not constant divisiveness.
Did you get wet or get baptized?
Are you living the old ways of the flesh with a Christian varnish or are you apart of the 'new humanity' implementing the kingdom of God by living the way of Christ?

Oh the Wonderful Power of the Blood!

Oh how there is so much power in the blood of the Lamb slain for God's glory and our salvation!!! We must proclaim this from the rooftops.
I believe we have been proclaiming this great truth throughout the ages. One of the most familiar hymns of Christendom is "There Is Power in the Blood."
As you know I have been reading When the Church was a Family. I recently read that the most significant relationship in the Mediterranean world was the sibling relationship.
So what does sibling relationships and the power of the blood have to do with each other?
Well I was told the other day by a friend that the brother-sister talk in the church is sort of strange. I began to wonder why this was so. I has pretty much adopted the language myself and never thought of it as strange. Except on occasions when I did not know how to address a pastor or lay leader of the church.
The language may be strange because we have only stressed the spiritual power of the blood of the Lamb. The blood is what washes us white as snow, cancels the debt of sin, frees us from pride, victoriously triumphs over evil, and empowers us to live for the King. Notice these are primarily vertical aspects of our relationship with God. What I mean by vertical is that they primarily have to do with our spiritual relationship with God and do not say a whole lot about our relationship with one another.
It is very interesting that throughout the New Testament that Jesus chose to use family language to speak of the relational aspect of Believers. Notice all the brother language in the Scriptures. What if we have missed something tied into the power of the blood?
I believe the thing we have missed is that the power of the blood work both vertically and horizontally.
Remember what Jesus says when Peter pipes up and says, "We have left everything to follow you (Jesus)." and Jesus replies, "Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left houses or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life." (Mark 10:28-30)
There are some amazing things this passage reveals once we really see the significance of the sibling relationship in the first century world.
Notice one relationship we place great value on in Western society that did not make the list. Marriage. This does not mean that marriage was not valued but I was not the most significant relationship of Jesus' time.
Notice also the timing of the blessings of following Jesus. Jesus tells us that we will be blessed now and in the future. At this time we will receive 100 times what we once had in brothers and sisters and land (possessions). In the future we will receive eternal life.
The blessing of 100 times what we left behind to follow Jesus is wrapped up in the power of the blood. We follow in such a way that disconnects us from our biological families but makes us adopted children of the King. The blood makes us new family members. We are what Joseph Hellerman calls "surrogate siblings." By the power of the blood we are forgiven, sinless, and apart of the King's family.
We have become brothers and sisters in a family that shares everything for the benefit of one another so that none are in need. We have become members of a new family that will love one another in a way that the world will know who our Father is. We are brother and sisters in the kingdom of God so that when we come to the alter of the King we will go forgive our brothers and sisters before we make our offering. We will not do these things out of obligation to the power of the blood but because of the power of the blood of Christ.
Are you a family member of the kingdom? Are you a brother or sister?
Live by the power of the blood--loving, living, caring, supporting, and walking with your other brothers and sisters in such a way that Bride would be most beautiful on the day of the Savior's return.
Oh, how there is power in the blood, wonderful power to bond us to one another as family and turn us from our rebellion against God.

What IF the Church Was More Like a Family?

IF the church were more like a family, living as a Christian could be drastically different for the Western church. I picked up When the Church Was a Family, finished chapter one the other day, and my thoughts have been running wild. I have also had some good conversations with friends.
What if you could save hundreds of thousands of dollars a year? If the church were a strong-group family, as possibly intended by Christ, then these dollars may be used for the advancement of the kingdom of God instead of paying your psychologist and pharmacist.
Let me explain.
You and I are individuals raised in a radically individualistic society. Three key questions define who we are. 1)What do we do (job, student, ect.)? 2)Who we are married to (wife or husband)? 3)Where we live (current location)?
Think about it for a minute...(Are you thinking?)...if you get into a conversation with someone to introduce yourself, you typically answer these three questions after, and some times before, you have stated your name.
The most interesting thing is that in being apart of a radically individualistic society (of which you really did not have a choice) has given you and I great freedoms. But, at what cost?
The cost has been dynamic and exorbitant.
A person today has to make decisions about those three questions. This decision making process has caused a drastic increased is the use of psychotherapy and medication to help people cope with the stresses they now encounter because of this dynamic decision making process. People who make these decisions do so with vast amounts of stress added to their emotions and psyche. People experience stress additionally because of the isolated existence they find themselves in while making these decisions. The emotional, psychological, and 'solitude' stresses people experience are causing large amounts of cash to change hands between patients and doctors.
However, when Jesus instituted the church he said it was to be something more like a family than indviduals existing together in a common group playing at church. A family for Jesus was drastically different from families you and I have experience of in our culture. When people in Jesus' time thought of what they would do, who they would marry, and where they would live they did not experience the stress you and I do. They did not experience the stress because they did not have to make those decisions by themselves.
What if the church was like the family Jesus expected it to be?
If the church were more like a family you and I might not be on Prozac. You and I might not have Thursday afternoon appointments to lay on our doctor's' couch and answer question about our childhood (some of us need to do this and others of us are doing it because of 'the stresses of life' we needlessly put ourselves through as Christians).
If the church were more like a family you and I may not have the emotional and psychological struggles we have. We could be collectively dependant on one another in such a way that we bore each other burdens and even helped one another out during the decision making times of life (no room for pride here).
If the church were more like a family the hundreds of thousands of dollars each year spent on psychotherapy and psychotherapy drugs could be used for the advancement of the gospel.
For the church to become more like a family is going to be difficult work. However, we are set apart to be cross-cultural. We are called to be a family of brothers and sisters, bearing each other burdens, and loving each other so that the world will know that God loves us.
The society may not be able to revert back to a strong-group culture but the church needs to find these roots. We are no longer individuals doing our own thing in this world. You and I have crucified the old self and are new creations in Christ. You and I have laid down our self for the advancement of the kingdom via cross bearing (that is if you call yourself Christian).
Are you ready for the church to be more like a family? It begins with you and I with the help of the cross riding ourselves of the concept of self and understanding that our decisions (both God glorifying and sinful) have an impact on the body of Christ, the family of God.

Losing Interest in the power of the World - Part 2

Last night I was allowed by a dear friend to preach for the church where he ministers. I challenged the church as God has challenged me in the past month to live the Gospel. There are many aspects of our lives that this concept touches, but in what God laid on my heart last night to teach about I used a quote from Mere Discipleship, a challenging book on my book list.
Lee C. Camp writes, "Christians must realize that walking in the way of the cross may, indeed, lead to a cross."
I began to think about this. Are Christians walking the way of the cross? Am I walking the way of the cross? And if the answer is no, then what is at least one implication if this is not true of Christians and myself? (I submit that there very well may be many implications if Christians are not walking the way of the cross.)
The one implication that strikes me to the point of repentance comes from how Believers get to respond to the slain Lamb in heaven. Believers get to sing along with the rest of the new creation, Worthy is the Lamb who was slain!
If we are not walking the way of the cross, which is the same path the Lamb walked, then we may be saying, not verbally, that the way of the Lamb is not worthy of our footprints. We are dramatizing it by the way we live. (Understand here that I know there is a drastic difference in what the Lamb accomplished on the path. In no way do we become savior(s). Rather we become like, similar to, the Savior.)
If we are walking in such a way that says the way of the Savior is not worthy to trod down, then how are we going to be able to stand with the heavenly host proclaiming, Worthy is the Lamb! Worthy is the one who died on a cross!
Our Savior is worthy. His path is worthy! Let us, Christians, rise together to the challenge to live the gospel. Our Savior has asked us to walk the path. The amazing thing is that when we walk the path of the Savior we become like him. Then in becoming like him we begin to accomplish what he has given us the responsibility to accomplish. When we live the Gospel, Believers, we establish the Kingdom of God. The way of the cross, the way of the Lamb, Jesus the Christ, is the power of God used by God through obedient children to continue to establish his kingdom on this earth.
I challenge you, walk the worthy path of the cross (it will not be easy), so we can stand together in that new day and sing, Worthy is the Lamb, that was slain. Holy, Holy is He!

Who Are You?

I just read something very interesting (my wife does not like this word and how often I use it). On my book list is the book When the Church Was a Family. The author has been describing how individualistic our society is better yet how we are. Something the author posed as a sort of thought experiment was a common introduction of someone in the bible applied to a modern setting. Imagine you meet someone at a church gathering for the first time after seeing them at church for a few Sundays.

Your new friend says, "Hello, I am Joe, son of Sam, son of Ben." Most of us would be mystified as to how to go through the rest of our set conversation. Because we all know what the next questions should be (What do you do? and Where do you live?). These questions tell a lot about our identity. But the introduction Joe gave would send these questions tailspining out of our thought pattern.

So, who are you? Think of this question from a more biblical stand point. I would love to get some feedback on this.

I am Thomas, son of John Tom, son of Robert.

What if we begin to see ourselves past our own noses? Could it be that we have been the 'me monster' for too long. Have a bigger picture of who you are than everything you have accomplished up to this point.

Remember what Paul says: "What do you have that you did not receive?" 1 Corinthians 4:7b. He is calling us to remember that what we have comes from a legacy not merely our efforts, ability or 'dumb' luck. And ultimately what we have comes from God!

Through somebody for a loop next time you introduce yourself. Help them see past your ego.

Losing Interest in the power of this World

Since my last post I have lost a great deal of interest in the government. The loss of interest in due to multiple events and thoughts over the past few months (books and mission trips tend to change your perspectives).
Just before I went to Nepal in October of 2009, I had almost become consumed with the political schemes of America. Admittingly I was obsessed over ideas and concepts that at the time made me angry and worrisome. Much has changed since Nepal.
I got to spend time with an amazing man who loves his congregation, orphans, and the lost. His name is Babu. He trains pastors and runs an orphanage. He adopted a street baby, named Sweetie. I got to play tea with Sweetie while visiting. Being in Babu's house/orphanage brought joy to my heart. I was apart of something God is doing on the other side of this world. God blessed me with that trip to begin to open my eyes to something more grand than I would have ever imagined. (I will be writing about what God is doing now in my life.)
Nepal in a since changed me, only for the better though. God reminded me of my passion for him and what he is doing in the world. He is the sovereign God of the universe. He is not worried with governments. He establishes kings and takes down kings. My King is the one who put little kings and presidents into power. So to say the least: what is going on in America does not consume my thoughts as it once did. I still think of the political schemes of this world because they are unavoidably posted on the web and things like that. But they are no longer an all consuming endeavor for myself.
I am glad that I went to Nepal and hope to go back some day. I have been out of touch with Babu and will email him soon. Pray for his orphanage and the boys and girls there. The militant Hindus and Buddhists do not like the work of God. When the Kingdom of God is being established in this world the principalities of this world make significant attempts to stop it. Nepal challenged me to live in such a way that I am apart of establishing the Kingdom of God not making rants about my political angel in order to be continually focused on the things of this world.
While in Nepal I got to speak at a Christian conference. Amazingly almost two thousand people packed a hall to hear the Word of God preached. There was now air conditioning, not cold water, and no chairs. There was a deep desire to hear God's word proclaimed. There was a deep desire to worship the One True God of the Universe. I also got to encourage pastors while I was there. I could not believe this because I am hardly qualified, if qualified at all, to be encouraging pastors. It was amazing though.
God is good, gracious and kind to my family. The Nepal trip only affirmed that and affirmed God's work in my life. May He keep it up as the days pass. Stay tuned for updates on what God does with this willing and obedient (most of the time) servant.