Sabbath

 

I have been having a few conversations these past few days with others whom God is calling to make sure they have a time of rest. Sabbath has become an important element in my life ever since I took an Old Testament class at Tyndale University & Seminary. More so these last few months as I have been slowly reading Ruth Haley Barton’s book, Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership. 

The Lord spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you come into the land that I give you, the land shall keep a Sabbath to the Lord. For six years you shall sow your field, and for six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its fruits, but in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a Sabbath to the Lord. You shall not sow your field or prune your vineyard. – Leviticus 25:1-4  ESV

As a follower of Christ, I think it easy to get caught up in the busyness of life. Trusting God and standing still seems to be more of the miracle taking place than in the doing of so much.

When I think of the very first apostle that was martyred, James the brother of John, I wonder how he prepared himself for that day? He was one of the twelve commissioned to disciple all nations and for him to die so soon in the call to that task, begs the question, why? First of all, I think that he did do his job. His job, by dying, was to show the rest of the Christians what they too may expect to happen to them and that they should be prepared accordingly. How to prepare? I believe taking time to observe a special time with God, Sabbath, gives one insight into the plans of God.  One does not go forward with confidence, prepared, if one does not know the way. Taking time with God provides me with that plan.

Remember how we talked about knowing the secrets of the universe? What about the secrets of the Lord?

The friendship[b] of the Lord is for those who fear him,
    and he makes known to them his covenant. – Psalm 25:14  ESV

I know this translation says friendship, but if you clicked on the letter [b] right after the word, you will note that the literal translation is “the secret counsel”  and the word secret denotes the “inner counsel.” Somehow there may be a trace of the Trinity in the choice of words used. I believe that in spending a significant period of quiet time with God, a Sabbath, there is an opportunity to know God and what He knows to share with us from His word. Trusting to know that my stopping from doing will not fail me, but rather strengthen me with purpose and confidence in Him.

 

 

 

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Holiness

 

Sonicflood – Holiness

 

Today I found holiness in some specific examples, both in the Old Testament and then I saw what it looked like in the early believers.

Leviticus chapter 21 explained the priesthood and with that explanation I took some of the marriage implications to a context that meant something for today.

They shall not marry a prostitute or a woman who has been defiled, neither shall they marry a woman divorced from her husband, for the priest is holy to his God. A widow, or a divorced woman, or a woman who has been defiled, or a prostitute, these he shall not marry. But he shall take as his wife a virgin[b] of his own people. – Leviticus 21:7,14  ESV

As I become older, the distance between me and young people, agewise, is getting larger. So one might think that in the 21st Century my thoughts are outdated or irrelevant.  But I do not think that God’s love is such. If His love is not outdated, what does His love want to protect us from when giving us guidelines on marriage or sexual relations?  In this case, I took away the idea that if a young person were to profess to be a disciple of Jesus, how could they consider entering into a marriage alliance with a confessed unbeliever in Him?  I am thrilled that the same instructions are given in the New Testament and so the principle has been the same for thousands of years. There is something special about keeping oneself holy – separated to God.

The early church fully bought into the idea of being holy.

So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul,  and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians. – Acts 11:25-26  ESV

They were so much like Jesus that they were called – “little Christs.” A disciple of Jesus was happy to wear His name. Not every believer becomes a disciple, but every disciple has become a follower of Jesus.

I did notice that disciple was not as favourite a term for Christian.  In fact, Paul never uses the word, either in verb or noun. The word only occurs in the gospels and in Acts. So maybe I should state that a Christian is a disciple, a follower of Jesus, who embraces Him as Lord, Saviour and Treasure.

Treasure is an important word. It implies a topic of conversation on giving. What do we give God who owns everything. Can we take this truth to heart – God does not need our money – it’s already His – all of it.

The earth is the Lord‘s and the fullness thereof,[a]
the world and those who dwell therein – Psalm 24:1  ESV

So we need to give, even though God does not need it. We give so we can reflect glory back to the One who gave in the first place. We pour back into what God has called us to do and be – bring His kingdom on earth.

Holiness has taken a big step in my life today. I am called to live it, just like those in Antioch. If they could reflect Jesus so much, I can too.

 

 

 

 

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The kingdom of God

 

Paul Baloche – The Kingdom of God

 

Jesus is crucified, then resurrected then spends forty days with His disciples talking about the kingdom of God. This is how the book of Acts opens.

 In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach,  until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen.  He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God – Acts 1:1-3  ESV

Paul is in prison, in Rome, in chains and spends at least two years preaching the kingdom of God. This is how the book of Acts closes.

He lived there two whole years at his own expense,[g] and welcomed all who came to him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance. – Acts 28:30-31  ESV

Is it possible, that if I was to memorize one phrase of the gospel that Jesus preached, would it be “the kingdom of God?”

The kingdom of God has always existed. It was not introduced by Jesus as a new thing. What was new, because of Jesus, I am being invited to enter into and live in the kingdom of God. So the gospel sounds like this – the kingdom of God is available, and if you want to, you can come right on in and live in it. Does that not sound grand? Does it not make our cheaper version called the gospel of minimal entrance requirements for getting into heaven when I die sound so small?

How do I live in this world – how did Jesus live in this world?

If the glorified, resurrected Jesus needed and relied on the Holy Spirit, so should we. This is a pattern for the rest of the Book of Acts, which shows us what the Holy Spirit does operating through the church. “The disciple is not above his Master, nor the servant above his Lord. If even he was indebted to the Holy Spirit for the power of his ministry, surely we cannot afford to attempt the work appointed us without the same anointing.” –  – Pierson

With the help of the Holy Spirit, I am called to build the kingdom of God at home, in my personal life, at work, in my community and in my church.

Luke records Jesus using the term “kingdom of God” 31 times in the gospel of Luke and then records it only 6 times in the book of Acts. The emphasis from Jesus is clearly there. Somehow I need to make it an emphasis of mine. This will be some learning experience – I am looking forward to it.

 

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Basic gospel

 

Simple Gospel (Official Video)

 

Actually, the basic gospel message is delivered in a such a way as to give us some interesting perspective of what the ministry of Jesus was all about.

Soon afterward he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him – Luke 8:1

Wealth or money or the lack thereof should be a message I pick up here and I can say I have missed that. While they were all working and preaching, who was raising support and who was worried about such support? Being a disciple is not so much the worry as it is about the doing. That is the requirement of discipleship.

Jesus made one thing the constant business of His life – He preached the good news. He took His work and had a regular pattern in doing it. One good work He did was the beginning of another good work. As an itinerant preacher, He did not confine Himself to one place. He found new places where His message was received well and He went to cities but did not avoid the villages. He set an example for me to not settle for the usual. My calling is to tell the good news of the kingdom of God – news that is good. Open arms to receive and reconcile. Love that fact that the twelve went with Him to watch Him do what He was called to do. They were learning from Him by watching Him.  A key discipleship indicator.

 

 

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How do others know I am a disciple?

 

A New Commandment Song

 

I found a familiar New Testament verse in the Old Testament, so it was not that new, it has been around for awhile.

You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord. – Leviticus 19:18  ESV

So when Jesus said it was a new commandment, what was so new about it? For one thing, it would seem that this new commandment would let others see in me that I am in fact a disciple of Jesus.

  • I am to love my neighbour now includes to love one another
  • The degree of love moved from the love I have for myself to the love Jesus has for me
  • This is where we leave the Old Testament map – there is no reason given as to why we are doing all this loving – Jesus lays it out – so that the world may know that I am His disciple

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.  By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. – John 13:34-35  ESV

 Acts chapter 10 gives me an idea of what that means put into action.

How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. – Acts 10:38

Dallas Willard puts words into play that are so meaningful to me.  He has the ability to put on paper what  I feel in my Spirit but do not have the collection of words to express. He calls being a disciple of Jesus an apprenticeship. Here is one thought he shares about how people will know I am a follower of Jesus.

I am learning to exercise the power of the kingdom—of Christ in his Word and Spirit—to minister good and defeat evil in all of the connections of earthly existence. “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, and He went about doing good, and healing all who were oppressed by the devil; for God was with Him.” (Acts 10:38) Apprenticeship to Jesus means that, in tiny steps, we learn to exercise this power seen in Jesus. Growth in character is primary, for power requires substance of character if it is to be used for Christ’s purposes. Christ had no character problems, but we do. Prayer, in its aspect of training for Kingdom life, is primarily a matter of learning to exercise power in a way that is both profitable and safe. Through it, in the usual case, we take our first steps in “receiving abundance of grace” and “reigning in life by One, Jesus Christ.” (Rom. 5:17) So character is more important than power for us, but it does not replace power. The fruit of the Spirit (thoroughly Christlike character) flourishes only in a context of regular communal manifestation of the gifts of the Spirit. And this manifest power of the Spirit in life is not something restricted to “church services.” In this matter also, Jesus is our example and our teacher. He acted with the Kingdom wherever he was. The “rivers of living water” which, as he said “shall flow from the center of the believers life” (from his “belly,” John 7:38), will continually flow from us, as it did from him, wherever we may be.

This is so insightful – love operating in the power of God’s Word and His Holy Spirit wherever I am.  How would the Psalms speak into that?

I found Psalm 13 speaking into the more human side of the life of a disciple. It speaks into our honesty with ourselves and possibly with others that at times we might feel alone, maybe abandoned by God, definitely distant. When we do, Psalm 13 is a great encouragement. While love, prayer, character, and power are all great signs of what a disciple of Jesus looks like, praising God always seems to be the one that brings His Holy Spirit right into my life to heal me so I can be like Him.

 

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