Wilderness Wanderings

When the hour had come, He reclined at the table, and the apostles with Him.
And He said to them, 

"I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer;
 for I say to you, I shall never again eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God."
And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He said, 

"Take this and share it among yourselves;
for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on 

until the kingdom of God comes."
 And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, 

He broke it and gave it to them, saying,
"This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me."
And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, "This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.
Luke 22:14-20 (NASB)

God has always related to man through covenants.  It's true.  Throughout the history of mankind, any relationship any individual has had with the Creator, has been through a covenant.  For the believer, that covenant is the new covenant Christ purchased when he submitted to the plan of the Father, and allowed himself to be crucified on Golgotha.  

During his last Passover and, indeed, the final meal he would share with his disciples prior to the culmination of his earthly mission, Christ celebrated the end of one covenant while looking forward to a new one.  He paid tribute to the way God had related to his people while, at the same time, promising a sacrifice through which the Father could have not only a deeper but, ultimately, a perfect relationship with those who would become his children.  While this new covenant is spoken of throughout the whole new testament, particularly through the writings of Paul, the old testament prophet Jeremiah outlined it this way:

Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah,
not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD.

But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. 

And I will be their God, 

and they shall be my people.

And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, 

and I will remember their sin no more.  Jeremiah 31:31-34 (ESV)

Although the disciples did not understand it at the time, Christ was saying that his blood was going to be poured out, and that he was going to die.  As a result of that death, man's relationship to God was going to change. Jesus was saying to his disciples that the new covenant predicted by Jeremiah was now being instituted.  Rather than trying to relate to the Father through the keeping of an external set of rules, this new relationship would be characterized by an inner transformation of his children.  It would no longer be a set of rules trying to make their way in, it would be a change on the inside that works its way out. 

That is marvelous, indeed, but it doesn't stop there.  Through this new covenant, God's children would not only know about him, they would know him personally.  The creature would relate to the Creator on an intimate level.  That intimacy is possible because iniquity would be forgiven, and sin no longer remembered.  I don't know about you, but that is certainly good news for me.  And, to top it off,  Yahweh guarantees the success of the new covenant.  He took the initiative to establish the covenant, and in stark contrast to the "thou shalt not," and "thou shalt" of the old covenant are the words, "I will put," "I will write," "I will forgive" of the new covenant.   It's God's work, done in God's people, for God's glory.

So, Christ sits with his disciples remembering God's deliverance of his people from Egypt.  He is remembering their deliverance from bondage and slavery and, in the middle of that remembrance, he makes them a promise.  He promises that there is another day coming.  A day when his followers will dine with him in the Kingdom of God.  For the believer, that is the promised land.  That is glory.  That is the goal and the prize.  That is what we long for above all things.

God does nothing by accident.  There are no coincidences with God.  The parallels between the journey of the people old covenant, and the journey of the people of the new covenant are there because of design, not merely chance.  It is, indeed, difficult not to compare Israel's delivery from slavery and bondage in Egypt to the believer's deliverance from slavery and bondage to sin at salvation.  It is equally as difficult not to compare the land God promised his people under the old covenant with the eternal glory he has promised his people under the new covenant.  But, for both, there was a journey in between.  For the people of Israel that journey was the wilderness.  For the people of Christ that journey is life.  And there are similarities.

For the believer to say that this wilderness wandering we call life becomes a walk in the park once we submit our lives to Christ would, at the least, be misleading.  It is actually closer to delusional or self deceiving or even out right lying.  The realities of wilderness living are continually before us.  There is sickness and disease.  There are wonderful days as well as terrible days.  There are time of marvelous victory, and there are days of devastating defeat. There are times of fantastic enthusiasm scattered among times of utter nothingness.  The list goes on and on.  Times of great vision and times of going through the motions.  Times when we take great strides in our walk, and times when the walk becomes a crawl.  Times of gain, and times of loss.

The good news is, through all of the highs and lows, the covenant still remains in place.  We are heading toward the promised land.  We do have this wilderness journey ahead of us, but glory is just on the other side of the spiritual Jordan.  And our Father does promise to guide, strengthen and preserve us through the journey. While we have not entered the Kingdom of God, he allows us to bring portions of the kingdom to our wilderness trials.  While we have not received all of the grace we will receive in eternity, he gives us enough to sustain us as we travel.  We certainly have not experienced all of the love that awaits us, but we receive enough to encourage us on the journey.  The same is true of peace, joy, wisdom and knowledge as well as any number of the kingdom's treasure.

It has been my experience, that the Father does not give sparingly.  He gives more grace than I need so that I might have some to share with fellow sojourners.  His love is more than is needed so that the overflow might strengthen those who have fallen.  The abundance of joy and peace is meant to encourage those who may have lost their way.  And wisdom and knowledge are given to light the way for those who follow. 

    And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, 

He broke it and gave it to them, saying,
"This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me."
And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, "This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.

Grace Visualized

A true story.  One day a son asks his father: "Daddy, will you run the marathon with me?" The father answers yes, and both run their first marathon together. One day, the son asks his father if he wants to run the marathon with him again and the father answers yes. They both run the marathon together again. Then one day the son asks his father, "Daddy, will you run the Ironman with me?" (the Ironman is the toughest...it requires a 4km swim, 180km biking and 42km running). The father says yes again. This all sounds easy...but check this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qn3cDe-5A2Q

I have watched this video so many times, and each time it brings tears to my eyes.  Certainly, I am touched by the love this man has for his son, and I wish I could be that kind of a father.  I am touched by the dedication, and I am amazed at the commitment.  And, I am sure, that explains a few of the tears.

As I watched it just a moment ago, however, I realized that there is another reason for the tears.  This video captures the idea of grace completely.  There are times when I feel as if I'm running this race of life pretty well.  There are other times, when I realize that I'm not running it very well.  Either way, however, when I describe it, I describe it as me running.

When I look back at the race somewhere in eternity, I am convinced it will look more like this video than any description I give it now.  A loving father running for a son who cannot run.  That is grace, and that also brings tears.


For more on Team Hoyt check out the following link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64A_AJjj8M4&feature=related

Bono, Christ, and Grace

I listened to a wonderful John Piper sermon this week.  Actually, I listened to several of them, and I would highly recommend him to anyone who has tired of the self-help, ego-boosting sermons that make scripture more about the creature than the glorification of the Creator.  The man certainly has eternity and the exaltation of the Father stamped on his heart.  But I did not come here to praise Piper, I came here to steal a quote. 

Piper quoted Paul David Hewson, who is better known as U2's lead vocalist Bono.  The quote came from the book, Bono: In Converstation with Michka Assavas, and in it one can certainly see the classic notion of C.S. Lewis that Jesus must be either “Liar, Lunatic or Lord” (from Mere Christianity). Here the quote from page 227 of the book:

"Look, the secular response to the Christ story always goes like this: he was a great prophet, obviously a very interesting guy, had a lot to say along the lines of other great prophets, be they Elijah, Muhammad, Buddha, or Confucius.   But actually Christ doesn't allow you that. He doesn't let you off that hook. Christ says:."

 "No.  I'm not saying I'm a teacher, don't call me teacher.

I'm not saying I'm a prophet.  .I'm saying: "I'm the Messiah."

I'm saying: "I am God incarnate."   And people say: No, no, please, just be a prophet.  A prophet, we can take.  You're a bit eccentric.

We've had John the Baptist eating locusts and wild honey, we can handle that. But don't mention the "M" word!   Because, you know, we're gonna have to crucify you."

" And he goes:  No, no.  I know you're expecting me to come back with an army, and set you free from these creeps, but actually I am the Messiah. At this point, everyone starts staring at their shoes, and says:  Oh, my God, he's gonna keep saying this.  So what you're left with is: either Christ was who He said He was, the Messiah, or a complete nutcase.  I mean, we're talking nutcase on the level of Charles Manson. . . . I'm not joking here. The idea that the entire course of civilization for over half of the globe could have its fate changed and turned upside-down by a nutcase...for me, that's farfetched."

I thought that was an interesting quote from an unexpected source, and so I checked out more of the interview.  I must say that I found another quote that I found equally as interesting.  Bono tells the interviewer:

(The concept of grace) is a "mind blowing concept...that keeps me on my knees.   At the center of all religions is the idea of Karma. You know, what you put out comes back to you: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, or in physics-in physical laws....every action is met by an equal or an opposite one."

"And yet,  along comes this idea called Grace to upend all that.... I'd be in big trouble if Karma was going to finally be my judge...It doesn't excuse my mistakes....but I'm holding out for Grace.  I'm holding out that Jesus took my sins onto the Cross, because I know who I am, and I hope I don't have to depend on my own religiosity.".

"The point of the death of Christ is that Christ took on the sins of the world, so that what we put out did not come back to us, and that our sinful nature does not reap the obvious death.  It's not our own good works that get us through the gates of Heaven."

Now, I'm not here to praise Bono either...don't know much about him or U2....and I'm certainly not here to judge him.  I will say that the dude has a wonderful grasp of grace of Christ, and I thought it was worth sharing.

The Joy of Coloring

I have been mulling over a Mike Yaconelli quote for the past few days.  It's from his book, "Dangerous Wonder," and it reminded me of a letter I wrote years ago to a close friend, who later became my wife.  Thought I would rewrite parts of it and post it on here.

“Christianity is not about learning how to live within the lines; Christianity is about the joy of coloring. The grace of God is preposterous enough to accept as beautiful a coloring that anyone else would reject as ugly. The grace of God sees beyond the scribbling to the heart of the scribbler...a scribbler who is similar to two thieves who hung on crosses on either side of Jesus. One of the two asked Jesus to please accept his scribbled and sloppy life into the kingdom of God...
And He did.  Preposterous.

And very good news for the rest of us scribblers.”
Mike Yaconelli, (Dangerous Wonder)

Whether we are satisfied with it or not, we have all painted something on the landscape that is our life.  To be sure, if I could pick up a brush and repaint my canvas, there would be things that I would paint over.  There would be things I would cover with white, and repaint with rich and full colors.  I would use shades seldom seen, and combinations of texture never used.  I might use oil, or I might use watercolor, but there would be some changes on a very average work of art.

But we can't repaint, and what's been painted has been painted.  All that really remains is to finish the mural.  And so I stand, brush in hand, before the canvas.  Every color is available to me.  Every texture is right before me.  My mind is alive to the array of possibilities that can be woven in.

My fingers are poised for strokes that will not come. The colors run together in my mind, and the textures don't seem quite right.  And the possibilities.  The possibilities stagger and confuse an overwhelmed soul.  What I want to be sunrise and sunset can seemingly only be shades of yellow and orange running through the plain back round.

Voices from the past scream for shades of gray, and lines that have been drawn before.  Well meaning friends encourage me to use their colors, and designs that have seemingly worked for them. The enemy whispers that there really is no need to put color to canvas, but the urge deep within will not be quieted.  

Behind me stands the Master artist.  Years ago, ultimate control of the brush was yielded to him.  At times I have carelessly splashed the paint, and he has patiently restored it with a color only he can create.  Amazingly, he turns carelessness into beauty, and disaster into a work of grace.   To the delight of the Master, there have been times I have covered the canvas with bold, colorful strokes that slipped outside the lines of tradition.  I remember the feeling of his pleasure more than the ridicule of my fellow artists. 

The time has come to apply the finishing strokes, and I am uncertain as to what should be painted.  I grip the brush tighter as the Master patiently waits.  He sees the finished Masterpiece, for it has been his painting it all along.  He has covered the flaws.  He has directed my hand when I was certain of the stroke, and he has directed it when I was completely uncertain.  He has turned scribbles into grandeur.  He has chosen the colors and the textures.  He has allowed me to paint, for there is joy in painting, but he has made certain the Masterpiece for that is what he desires and it is what he does.

He is the Master and, ultimately, the work is his.  When the work is complete, he will hang it with his other works of art.  Like all of the pieces, it will be uniquely beautiful, it will reflect his glory, and it's value will be in the touch of the Master.  

You see, for while in kindness he allowed me to paint, his hand continually worked to perfect it for his glory.  And, in the end, I am convinced that both the scribbling student and the Master will be satisfied.    

But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, 

and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption,
 So that, just as it is written, "LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD." 

(1 Corinthians 1:30-31 NAS)

--

Tiger Blood and Adonis DNA

This past week I have been forced to take an honestly brutal look at myself, evaluate the available data, and confess the results of the assessment. It is certainly not my goal to disappoint or hurt anyone, but rather to merely state what I have discovered. My wife will be shocked, and my children disappointed, but it needs to be done.

Are you ready for this?

Well, the truth is, I do not have, "Tiger blood and Adonis DNA." There it is. It's out there. I knew you would be disquieted, and I can sense the aghast in the stunned silence. I was surprised at the conclusion myself. Quite frankly, now that I have said it out loud, it feels as if a load has been lifted.

Fortunately, with that truth came another. What I lack in tiger blood and Adonis DNA is more than made up for by what I do possess.

You see, Charlie may fantasize about being endowed with tiger blood, but in complete reality I have the blood of Jesus Christ to cleanse me from all unrighteousness. Charlie's tiger blood may make him fierce as he battles life, but Christ's blood claims me, and makes me righteous before a perfectly holy God. It gives me life.

Charlie may envision a world in which he can trace his lineage to the Greek god Adonis, while I know with a certainty that my lineage is traced through Christ to Adonai....Yahweh...Elohim....the only true God. The creator and ruler of all things is my Father.

I am made righteous through the blood of Christ, and the sustainer of the cosmos is my Father. I'll take that over tiger blood and Adonis DNA any day. And, in the end, I pray that Charlie comes to that realization as well.

Lessons from Jake

I have had some wonderful dogs in my life. I am rather fond of our current dogs, Abby and Hunter, and I truly enjoyed Buddy before them. However, of all the dogs I have ever been associated with, Jake was undoubtedly my favorite. Part of it was his personality, and part of it was the fact that he was my constant companion through what can only be described as the most difficult period of my life. Jake was an ugly dog, to be sure, but he was my friend, and as we traveled our wilderness trails together, he taught me a few things.

I am convinced that Jake took pride in the fact that we paid one hundred and twenty five dollars for him. In moments when he seemed a little down, I would remind him of that and I think it lifted his spirits. Of course, I never mentioned that we had paid for the things they had done to him rather than for any inherent value he may have possessed. He really didn't need to know that truth, and it wasn't lying to say that we paid one hundred and twenty five dollars for him, so who did it really hurt?

Jake and I had things in common. We were both ugly, and we both were blessed with rather strong stubborn streaks. Actually, stubbornness that bordered on rebellion. Well, in Jake's case it did. He was rebellious, and I'm strong willed. I like to think that there is a difference.

By coincidence, our names mean the same thing. It's true. Jacob and James mean the same thing. They both mean, "Supplanter" or, "One who takes he place of." Like the patriarch Jacob in the Bible, both Jake and I, on occasion, like to lead instead of follow. In all fairness to me, it was a stronger characteristic in Jake. In any case, there have been times when we both thought that our plans were better than the plans of our master.

As Jake's master, I have to tell you that there were occasions when I found this characteristic frustrating. To be sure, Jake wasn't a bad dog. In fact, he had an obedience ratio of probably close to ninety-five percent. The vast majority of the time when I called him, Jake would actually respond. There were occasions however, when he would see a rabbit or a deer, or perhaps get a whiff of some odor he wanted to explore, and he would be gone. I could call all I wanted, but he would not come back until he was good and ready to turn around.

Years ago, when we were traveling some trails in Northern Minnesota, Jake ran off on me. I called for him but, if he heard me, he ignored the command and kept running. Unfortunately, shortly after Jake left on the mission he had created in his mind, a storm came up. Thunder and lightening. Heavy rain. The whole works. It was also close to the Fourth of July, and fireworks seemed to be everywhere.

In the confusion of the storm and the noise, Jake apparently lost his way. As his master, I spent hours, even days, looking for him. I would walk and bike, calling his name, hoping he would hear my voice and come home. I wasn't mad at him, you understand. I realized that he had made a mistake in not listening to my call, and the unexpected storm had sent him in the wrong direction. My only concern was that I would find him, and have him back at my side.

Technology is, in most cases, a wonderful thing. Jake had a little thing implanted in him that, when scanned and read, told people that he belonged to me. It would tell anyone who checked that I was Jake's master. He was mine. That's how we found him. Jake ended up in an animal shelter, they checked his tag, and found out that he belonged to me.

At the time, I didn't want to embarrass Jake but, truth be told, he was a pathetic sight in that tiny kennel at the shelter. His head was between his front paws on the cold cement floor, as he stared forlornly ahead. I think he realized that, with just one moment of carelessness, he had traded open spaces to run, and a family that loved him, for a four by five cell and some strangers who were kind enough to feed him once a day. In his mind, he had lost it all just by ignoring his master's voice when I tried calling to him.

But there was that tag. That implant that told the world that he belonged to me. The thing that declared that I was his master. And it was that implant that allowed Jake to be brought safely back to me.

Many of us are a lot like Jake. At least, I know that I am. Remember, our names mean the same thing. But many of us are in the same boat. We're pretty good people. As Christians, we have a fairly high obedience ratio. Maybe even as high as ninety-five percent. However, there are those times when we get a little whiff of something. Something we would prefer to pursue rather than responding to the voice of the Master. We set our own course, and take off on our own mission without hearing, or maybe even ignoring the voice of our Master calling us back.

Most often, we eventually come to our senses, and head back to the safety of the Master's side. But occasionally, as we wander on our own course, storms come up and we lose our direction. The noise and confusion of life causes us to run the wrong way. Rather than running toward the Master, we find ourselves running away from the only truly safe place there is for us.

When these times come, it's important for us to understand that the Master isn't mad at us. That's not the nature of the God we serve. His desire is for our safety. He wants us back at His side, enjoying each others company. Whenever I've been distracted by the storms and noise of life, and have headed away from the Master, I find myself pretty much like Jake in that shelter. A forlorn, helpless creature, realizing that I've traded all kinds of freedom and joy for a moment of ignoring the Master's call.

But friends, the gospel of Christ is a beautiful thing. When we come to Christ, and accept the salvation offered through His sacrifice, we are given an implant. O.K., maybe I exaggerate when I call it an implant. But we are given a seal. We are sealed by the Holy Spirit as being one who belongs to God. We have been purchased by Him, we have been bought by Him, and He is our Master. The seal is proof of that truth.

And when we lose our direction. Or when we refuse, in our rebellion, to listen to the Master's call. When we lose our way home. In those times, He comes to us wherever we may be. He comes to us in our despair, and the self-made prisons in which we have placed ourselves. He comes to us in our loneliness and regrets. And he looks at us with eyes of love and says, "That's one of mine. His name is Jim, and he belongs to me." If anyone would have the courage to ask the Creator of the universe how He knows which ones belong to Him, He would tell them, "I know he's mine because of that seal. That seal identifies him as one that I've purchased, and I am his Master."

As Christians, we rejoice in the fact that whatever storms we may face in life, we have a seal that will always get us back home. We are marked as being one who belongs to the Master. We are one of the chosen, one of the elect, and we are marked as belonging to the Creator of all things. He always leaves the light on for us. He never stops calling for us. And when we can't find the light or hear the call, He searches the dungeons and prisons we've locked ourselves in, finds us, picks us up, cleans us off and brings us home.

.

Restoring the Wounded

It has been said that Christian's are infamous for shooting their wounded. While that may be true in the general sense, it is probably more accurate to admit that our preferred weapon would be stones. To be sure, shooting would be more humane, and restoring them to health would be more beneficial to the battle in the long run. But it's hard to beat the feel of a solid, well balanced rock being flung with justification and vigor in the cool of the morning. I understand the truth of this for I have hurled a few in my youth, and I have been pummeled by many. In our defense, it is easier and quicker to heave the stone than to put the time and energy into restoring the wounded.

I only mention this because I overheard an interview with Joni and Marcus Lamb the other day. It would not have been something that I normally would have listened to, but it happened to be on while I was painting my living room, and I was interested in the discussion. I learned that Marcus Lamb is a pastor as well as the founder of a Christian television network called Daystar. Guess I should have known who he was, but I really don't watch a whole lot of Christian television. At any rate, I also learned that Marcus had confessed to his wife Joni, as well as to the people at Daystar and his church, that he had committed adultery. Since I have some understanding of the Christian psyche when it comes to this offense, I prepared myself to hear a story of abandonment and isolation as well as a few details of other well placed spiritual stones. I was wrong, and I was blessed.

I was impressed with the way Pastor Lamb took responsibility for his sin. I was impressed with the honesty and openness with which he and his wife discussed the situation. But I was truly inspired by the leaders of his church. They didn't ignore the fact that it had happened. They didn't minimize the impact or the disappointment. But they also didn't reach for the stones. They recognized that the warrior had been wounded, and they prayerfully took action to restore him. They asked him to step down from preaching for a year, not to punish him, but to give him time to heal. There were other actions I am sure, but none of them were designed to leave him without hope. All of them were designed to return the warrior to battle. It blessed me.

I do not know all of the details of this situation and do not speak as an expert. I can tell you the picture that has been painted in my mind. In this picture, I am not naïve enough to think that stones are not being thrown, for that would not be realistic. I do, indeed, picture stones being flung from every direction. I picture a wounded man surrounded by those closest to him. The stones are landing, but not on the warrior. They land on those who surround him as they work toward his restoration, and it blesses me.