Heartwashed:

A condition that occurs when one of God's created beings is restored to its original design of reflecting the glory of God. God accomplishes this by removing a heart of stone and replacing it with a heart of flesh. He then cleanses that heart of flesh with living pure waters of His Holiness. The process is completed when God plants the Love of Christ in His beings so that they then desire to live to carry out the will of God instead of rebelling against it. (Ezekiel 36)

Monday, August 9, 2010

The End Game

Ezekiel 44:28 This shall be their inheritance: I am their inheritance: and you shall give them no possession in Israel; I am their possession.

My biggest challenge in my pursuit of Christ is confusing the means with the ends. What do I mean by that? Well its simple. It seems that sin constantly attacks me in an attempt to confuse the fact that God is the end Goal of my life and faith. Sin casually misleads us to think that God is the means by which we accomplish something. This happens not because of theological inerrancy,as I am more convinced that He alone is the one true God. I know He is the end game, but every so often I find myself somehow trying pitifully to play His role.

This confusion is everywhere. Think I am wrong? Go to the local Christian bookstore and look how our own religious materials demonstrates how God can make you a better father, business person, woman, minister, child, missionary or whatever. God does not want me to be a better Business person, He desires my Worship of Him in his perfectness. If me being a better business person is a byproduct (and it will be) then so be it, but it is NOT his goal. There is no need for a better business person in the Kingdom, the need in the world is for more light and salt of Christ.

There is an incredibly large difference in praising Christ who is the Yes and Amen for what he did perfectly, and walking with him in victory as opposed to me scripting my own playbook and asking him to bless my "best efforts", even if they are in ministry.

Which are you doing?

Is he your desire? Your satisfaction? Or are you confused and you think He exists to get you what you really want? (that would indicate that there is something greater than He in your sights)

Doesn't it make better sense that we are a means to His end? Doesn't this bring our salvation into a better perspective, as its purpose is to reflect the Glory of God to the nations?

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

What do you want me to do God?

Ezekiel 7:26 Disaster comes upon disaster; rumors follow rumors. They seek a vision from the prophet, while the law perishes from the priest and counsel from the elders.

What do you want me to do God? A frequent question asked in our day. Most of the time it is asked with more interest in how we can help God than how much we need him. We have a tendency in America to see ourselves as the solution. We think if we can just get God to show us where to go, we can take the promised land to that place or people. The biggest challenge is that for the most part our faith and obedience is so puny and there fore our communion so estranged, we never hear God clearly so the result is to just sit around in our circles and talk about things theoretically.

Almost the entire book of Ezekiel is one of impending doom. Graphic judgement on Israel and Judah and every other country around for that matter. In the verse above, Ezekiel is speaking to the entire house of Israel. They have completely turned their back on God. they have played the "lustful whore" with the nations. There desires are not on God -they are on money, sex and lavishness. They have taken the resources that are God's -given to his prized people and used it to engage in worldly satisfaction. They have completely found their satisfaction in the things of this world. LOOK OUT - they are still about going to "church" so to speak as they came to the temple worship, and they were doing the things that they "HAD TO DO FOR GOD". They just did not have a relationship with Him and they found now satisfaction in Him. God looks at that as profane worship. When we bring the things we lust for in our hearts with us to "go through the religious motions" of corporate gathering it pretty much infuriates God.

So the Israelites are looking forward to visions from prophets. They are looking for God to help them, heal them and direct the path to do so. They are looking for this prophecy while the laws of God have perished from the land and the elders no longer give Godly council. They are looking for more Godly stuff to think about while completely ignoring the revelation of God through His law, Prophets and Leadership that was already crystal clear. God's answer is a deafening - " I am going to judge them and then they will know that I am Lord" (v.27). It is clear that God has an intense fury against this behavior.

The only thing that can stand in the way of this fury for any of us, is the intense worship of Christ in our place. We need to be bold, loud and obnoxious in our praise of Christ and we need to be very careful about asking God for more "special revelation" while ignoring what he has already stated. Why? In an indirect way, we are trying to play God when this occurs. How? Our actions are saying " We don't really like the aspects of God that have been revealed so we want a different glimpse". In essence we are saying we don't like God and we need a new one........that is a rejection of God the Father, Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Monday, August 2, 2010

Scapegoat

Leviticus 16:10 But the goat chosen by lot as the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the LORD to be used for making atonement by sending it into the desert as a scapegoat...... 20 "When Aaron has finished making atonement for the Most Holy Place, the Tent of Meeting and the altar, he shall bring forward the live goat. 21 He is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites—all their sins—and put them on the goat's head. He shall send the goat away into the desert in the care of a man appointed for the task. 22 The goat will carry on itself all their sins to a solitary place; and the man shall release it in the desert.

G. Gordon Liddy is a famous scapegoat in recent American History. Older history books will disclose him as the sole instigator, planner and driver of the Watergate break in that cost Richard Nixon the presidency. Newer accounts will point you to the fact that he was just a part of the Republican machine at the time, he was one of many engaging in "over the fringe" political tactics that dominate our politics, even today. What happened to G. Gordon Liddy that brought all of the blame on him like a lightning rod?

Two things: 1) He got caught red handed breaking in a democratic office. 2) Someone had to accept the blame for the evil done so that the republican party could separate its own image from the wrongdoings. They needed a scapegoat, and he was simply the man on whom the lot fell due to the circumstances. So what happened to G. Gordon Liddy? Two more things: 1) He was punished for the crimes by imprisonment and 2) Now after being released, he has a bit of a martyr persona because of his self sacrifice. He now makes a lot of cash doing sponsorships because even though he was rightly convicted as a felon, it is obvious he took the blame for many and that is a noble rarity in our American me-too culture.

So it is a big stretch from Leviticus 16 to Watergate you might say. Well then brace yourself as we stretch a little further. On whom fell the wrath that you and I are do? Who accepted the punishment for all evil for all time? Who is my scapegoat? Who offers to be yours?

Before we progress further, let me carefully add the fact that G. Gordon was guilty as charged of His felony. His semi heroism was just accepting more blame than was due him. Jesus Christ was perfectly blameless, yet accepted the cumulative sins of mankind on the cross. Jesus is the only scapegoat available for us to place our hands and sins on. As we do, psalms 103 takes traction in our lives as "our sins are removed as far as the East is from the West". Just as the scapegoat in Leviticus 16 was released into a remote wilderness never to be seen again, with the sins of the Israelites upon its head, Christ is the only way our sins are transferred from us. If they are not transferred from us, then they remain on us, and if that is so, then the wrath of God abides on our heads.

So do you have a willingness to take down all of the false idols of your heart like lust, pride, greed, selfishness, drunkenness, sexual immorality and cast those on Christ with the hopes that the penalty for your sins and the sins themselves will be taken away from your life? Or do you just want the penalty gone, but not the desire to sin? The majesty of the Christian faith is its core uniqueness teaches that the only way you can get to God is by letting God serve you first through Christ. All other faiths leave you in a failing attempt to please God in your good deeds. The only problem with trying to please God with our good deeds is us. You and I know what goes on in our souls and we sense the need for redemption. We know we need a scapegoat. We need a savior. Christ stands ready. He was separated from the father on the cross as a scapegoat and the wrath due my sin was on His head.

I praise Him as it is no longer on mine!

A misconception that you don't need one is the largest barrier to Christ exaltation in your life as your scapegoat. The scapegoat gets you to God. Be careful not to think that you can invent a scapegoat in Christ whose purpose is to empower you sin. He empowers us to Live in Christ and make war against sin.

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Are we being Hunted?

Ezekiel 13: 18 and say, Thus says the Lord God: Woe to the women who sew magic bands upon all wrists, and make veils for the heads of persons of every stature, in the hunt for souls! Will you hunt down souls belonging to my people and keep your own souls alive? 19 You have profaned me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, putting to death souls who should not die and keeping alive souls who should not live, by your lying to my people, who listen to lies. 20 “Therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against your magic bands with which you hunt the souls like birds, and I will tear them from your arms, and I will let the souls whom you hunt go free, the souls like birds.

The hunt for Red October is clearly my favorite movie of all times. It is a classic cold war thriller, were the US (the good guys) is pitted against the USSR (the bad guys) . The plot of the movie finds both sides hunting a Russian general who is seeking exile with his submarine and officers in the US. Rameus, the Russian general, knows that the submarine that he is commanding was built to bring mass destruction and death to the world, and so he is trying to receive safe harbor in the US in exchange for delivering the first strike sub. As both sides hunt The Red October, it is clear that both sides have different intentions for it when they catch it. The Russians want to blow it up to keep their secrets and eliminate the defecting Russians. The Americans want to grant peaceful exile and familiarize themselves with the technology so that they will not be overwhelmed by its advanced capabilities. Two hunters, one sub, and only one side would catch them first. Luckily it was the US and they received peace and not elimination.

I am struck by the language of Ezekiel 13. God is announcing judgement on evil women who hunt the souls of his people, with worldly distractions. God is in turn sending out Ezekiel hunting them with His offer of repentance and healing. The people in Ezekiel's day were in the same spot as the submarine, the Red October. They were being hunted by two opposing forces and only one would capture their hearts for eternity.

Do we realize that the same thing is happening to us today? Do we believe 1 Peter 5:8, that the devil is hunting us, our wives, families and friends? I don't know about you, but I feel that clearly. I see that and sense that pretty much every day as the world is tough. God, in His grace, is hunting us with the sacrificial Love displayed in the cross. The devil hunts us with temptations to do the devil's favorite things: try to be God ourselves and covertly alter the sovereign word of God.

So where does that leave us? If we have been captured by the Love of the cross, we should do what
Jesus does and hunt others with his love. This starts at home, and it should be done with the intensity that there is another force that is stalking our families, and it has a different end result in mind than we do. It wants to alienate them from you and God. Time is of the essence.

Friday, July 30, 2010

Fountain

Zechariah 13:1 On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness.

Monday morning's run started late, at about 10. The mercury had already hit 89 and the humidity form the gulf was kicking pretty good. By mile three, I was really starting to feel the effects of the heat, as my body was sweating out a lot of water. After a not so fast fourth mile, I made it back to the condo complex and made a bee line for the water fountain. The one inside that was cool. Cool, crisp water on a partially dehydrated tongue is semi-majestic. Most of you know what I am talking about.

Zechariah, in looking forward to the reign of Christ, speaks of a fountain that cleanses from all sin and unrighteousness. What a picture of Christ washing over His bride, with pure clear waters. The bible speaks of living water continuously as a life source from the throne of God made available to us by the grace of God, through Christ.

Big question? Right now do you view communion with Christ as you would a cold water fountain after a four mile run in heat index over 100? Is the word of God your daily diet?

If not, there is a large chance that you do not recognize your need for hydrating yourself with living water, because you are drinking water from another well.

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Beach Feast

Zechariah 7: 5-6 " Say to all the people in the land and the priests, When you fasted and mourned in the fifth month and in the seventh, for these seventy years, was it for me that you fasted? 6 And when you eat and when you drink, do you not eat for yourselves and drink for yourselves?"

We just got back from a great week at Blue Mountain Beach, Florida. One thing that you can bank on is watching people "live life to the fullest" at the beach. Especially the first day, when excitement abounds and hangovers have not set in yet. It is truly amazing to watch entire families joyfully sprint to the beach, crank up cozy tunes and start cracking cold ones or drinking "boat drinks". It is easy to see that for many families this is the pinnacle time of relaxation and togetherness. As the week goes by tensions mount, but that first burst of joy on day one is an interesting thing to watch.

I catch myself wondering: why can we not be this way towards God? Shouldn't we anticipate each day with Him, with intensity?

The scripture from Zecahariah says many things. The biggest two are these:
1) We are heavily focused on ourselves.
2) Our natural tendency is to find fun and joy in the things of this world, and sorrow and gloom in the things of God. Notice how the eating and drinking was done to themselves, but their mourning and fasting was assigned to God yet both were done to serve themselves?

If this does not describe us as a culture, I am not quite sure what else does. What would it be like if we ran towards God each day with the anticipation of the first cannon ball in the pool? What if our kids saw us as satisfied with Christ as we are when beach umbrellas, white sand and adult beverages totally satisfy our senses? What if the world saw us in a joyous fast and mistook our Godly contentment for a coconut scented, ultra-relaxed beach partier?

God would change the world through us.

I got a feeling that is what He is after. Us filled with Him. Us rightly satisfied with Him. Others puzzled at Christ in Us.

How does this look in your life? Do you manufacture joy through the temporary things of this world, or do you find permanent joy in God? Do you seperate the "have to do the God things" from the "get to do the fun things in life"?

Monday, July 19, 2010

The great offense

Galatians 5:11b In that case the offense of the cross....

My son Cal is a football fanatic. He is an animal in the trenches, but let's just say that his throwing motion has a lot to be desired. A lot. In working with him yesterday, there was a moment when his commitment to not listening and learning how to do it right, crushed him in crying frustration. Even he could see his performance left much to be desired. It was only until Cal was willing to acknowledge he was wrong, that he needed to give up his way and accept help from a loving father, and would leave his old failing habits behind and use the new, that he was able to improve his passing ability.

All analogies of the Christian life have holes, but there is a core dynamic in what happened to Cal yesterday, and all of those who accept or reject the offense of the cross. Now you might say," what is the offense of the cross? I thought that was all a happy point for us, it is an easy thing to accept and move on." That would miss the point of Gospel. The cross is offensive because we have to admit that we are in desperate need of God's rescue and leap into His design for our lives. We have to eat our pride, our individualism, and our own self desire and we just don't like to do that if we are honest. It is an offense to us because we are deceived that we are cosmic-like wise and important in our little 2010 bubbles. We aren't. We are in deep trouble. That is until you embrace the instrument of torture that slits the throat of the rebellious Adam that is living inside of you.

The Bible, history and common sense tell us that we all will die. The Bible and the future will attest that Christ is the the only one to have power over death. Do you want that? Do you want Jesus' death and life in the place of yours because yours is not worthy? That is the offense of the cross. Admitting that you and I are unworthy until we follow, submit and cherish the finished work of Christ.

Beware of being sold a synthetic gospel, a man made one that leaves out dying unto self. Until we do this no matter our church attendance or service records we are walking in our own death, not Christ's life. There is no blending of the offense into other half baked truths. It is loud and it is bold.

He is the Yes and Amen!