Call It What You Want

Proverbs 23:5 ” Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle.”

Proverbs 24:3-5 ” By wisdom a house is built and through understanding it is established; 4 through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures. 5 A wise man has great power,  and a man of knowledge increases strength.”

This is not at all what I was planning on reading tonight but things rarely work out like I think they will or should. For some reason…well, because I’m not moving along in this journey of life like I think I should, I have become focused on accruing money and things looking on the outside like I have it all together. I’m not saying Paige and I are having trouble by any means, things are great for us in our relationship, but instead of focusing on Papa’s will for my life lately I’ve focused on getting the things the world tells me I should have. i.e. new house, anything I want, _______ fill in the blank. I’m a fool.

Papa I’m so sorry, I’m a fool to take my eyes of the prize You have for me. I confess trying to do things in my own strength, I confess wanting the things of the world. Forgive me for not trusting You to provide in Your perfect timing. Forgive me Papa, I have become the man who looks at his face in the mirror and then forgets it immediately. Forgive me for my foolishness. Papa, I’m nothing without You. Please pour out Your mercy on me. I need Your will for my life, I need Your wisdom, I need You to be my sustenance.

Trust in HIM

Romans 15:13 “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

I was really needing this verse…… during my queit time with Pappa, I was needing some direction, assurance, peace, hope…… I had some questions that needed answers.  And I needed peace to make the decisions I am going to have to make in the next few months.  Most of which pertain to business but all of those filter down to my personal life and that can get real tough.   I haven’t been spending good quality time with Father like HE wants to, and I have felt the pains of that. I have enjoyed these past couple of weeks in this accountability group, since it has brought the surface, issues I have known about but didn’t really want to deal with or accept.  But I have grown so tired of laboring to do it on my own.  I say I trust HIM but when it gets tough and decisions have to be made and times are hard it seems that I find myself trying to fix it or figure it out in my strength and my understanding, instead of seeking HIM and trusting what HE says to do.  I have grown very tired of that way of thinking, that childish thinking. 

Papa I………I’ve tried to do it on my own for too long…I give up…I give it all to YOU.  Forgive me for running for so long.  I ask YOU for the wisdom I need to make the decisions I have to  and for the peace to walk into what YOU have for me in the future.  I pray that my actions with be the evidence of my faith and trust in YOU.

Amen

Church study #2…..The Beginning?

Yesterday I started looking at the question of whether or not the church now could even look like the original church that Jesus set up.  I feel like God answered that question, we can and should look like that.  So, when did Jesus’ church begin? The New Testament often mentions Jesus’ church, but when and where did it begin?

 Many passages predict the beginning of the church. Daniel 2 predicts a kingdom that God would set up during the Roman Empire. John the Baptist taught that this kingdom was “at hand” (Matthew 3:1,2). Later in Matthew 16:18, Jesus promised, “I will build my church.” Notice that all these passages look forward to the beginning of the church. Even during Jesus’ lifetime, the church did not exist, but He predicted He would build it.

If we now look toward the end of the New Testament, we will find the church definitely in existence. In 1 Timothy 3:15 Paul instructed men how to behave themselves “in the church.” In Colossians 1:13 he said that he and other Christians were in the kingdom.

The book of Acts records the history of the early church.  Acts 20:28 says that Jesus purchased the church with His blood. Moving toward the beginning of the book, we find the church in existence in Acts 8:1 and 5:11. But the book of Acts begins with the resurrection and ascension of Jesus. Notice that the church did not exist during Jesus’ lifetime, but it did exist soon afterward. Clearly it must have begun shortly after Jesus’ death.

So we can go back and see the beginning of the church, you will find it in Acts chapter 2.  On a Jewish feast day called Pentecost, Peter preached the first gospel sermon.  He told people to “repent and be baptized for the remission of sins” (v38), and three thousand obeyed.  Then in Acts 2:47 (KJV) we read: “And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.” The church had begun! It began in Jerusalem on Pentecost.  That is when the church fellowship started.  Did it start before that though?

Paul in Ephesians 2 describes the foundation of this temple as the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus being the chief cornerstone.  This is like 1 Peter 2:4-8 and Psalm 118:22 where Jesus is also said to be the chief cornerstone. Likewise, 1 Corinthians 3:11says there can be no foundation other than Jesus Christ (see also Matthew 16:18 where Jesus – not Peter – is the stone on which the church is built, or at least the truth that was given to Peter through Holy Spirit).

These other passages make clear that Jesus Himself is the foundation. Like Shoe I will give a short history lesson.  The chief cornerstone was the foundational stone in ancient architecture, from which all measurements began, so every other stone was laid in relationship to the cornerstone. Clearly this position belongs to Jesus.

But if Jesus is the foundation, then in what sense is it the foundation “of the apostles and prophets ” Ephesians 2:20-22.  Some claim this means the apostles and prophets are the foundation, but such a view would directly contradict the above passages. 

OK now a quick Greek lesson “Of the apostles” in the Greek is a possessive (genitive plural). It simply means belonging to or pertaining to the apostles and prophets. It does not say the apostles and prophets are the foundation, but simply that the foundation in some way pertains or relates to them.  We say a similar thing when we say this is the “Smith’s house” (Greek would use genitive here). No one would conclude that the Smiths are the house, but that it belongs to or pertains to them.  If an architectural firm designed a building or a construction firm built a building, we might say, “This is one of Smith and Brown’s buildings.” We do not mean that Smith and Brown are the building, but only that they designed or constructed it, etc. This is all that is meant in Greek by “of the apostles and prophets.”

So in what way does Jesus, as the foundation or chief cornerstone, pertain to the apostles and prophets? They revealed the gospel message which made known to the world about Jesus as the foundation of the church and how people can become members of that church. They were His ambassadors (2 Cor. 5:18-21). Peter had the keys of the kingdom (Matt. 16:18,19), which he used when he preached the sermons that taught people how to enter.

This is similar to Acts 2:42, which refers to the “apostles’ doctrine.” This does not mean they are the doctrine, nor even that they originated it. It is theirs only in the sense that they were responsible to reveal and teach it.  Likewise, the foundation is theirs only in that they revealed and taught the message about it.

To say the apostles and prophets are the foundation would be to the make the same mistake some people make on Matt. 16:18 when they claim Peter was the rock on which the church is built. To so state would exalt a man to a position God never intended, and thereby fail to truly exalt Jesus to the position He deserves. The practical consequences is seen in Catholicism and Mormonism and such groups, who have exalted their priesthood/hierarchy (especially popes) to positions all out of proportion to what God ever intended. Yet they justify their position by misusing passages such as these.  Specifically, Mormonism claims that “the church is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets” means apostles and prophets must be living on earth in order for the true church to exist; so any church which does not have living apostles on earth cannot be the true church. While it is true that the work of the apostles pertained to the founding or beginning of the church, yet Jesus is the chief cornerstone. Must Jesus  be living on earth in order for the church to exist? Obviously not. Then why must we have apostles and prophets living on earth in order for the church to exist? We do not need apostles living on earth today any more than we need Jesus living on earth today!

So, the church didn’t really begin in Acts. 2 but before that with Jesus.  Gen 1:26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.  God wasn’t alone there and talking to himself.  Jesus and Holy Spirit were there as well.  So if Jesus is the beginning of the church and truth given through Holy Spirit are the keys to the kingdom than the church started long ago, and we are just seeing the fruit of people walking as the church. 

The Command Center

Continuing the the thought of the last post is where Paul picks up in Romans 8.

Remember, I posed the question of why Jesus added the “mind” to the greatest commandment (Mark 12:30), when God himself gave the command (Deut 6:5) without the identification of the “mind”.  Read what Paul has to say about it…

Romans 8:5-6 (NLT) “5 Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. 6 So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.“

No wonder Jesus thought it was important.  The mind is the command center of the spiritual battlefront between our spirit (controlled by the Holy Spirit) and our flesh (controlled by the enemy). Wikipedia defines the command center as:

A command center is a central place for carrying out orders and for supervising tasks, also known as a headquarters, or HQ.

Whoever controls the mind, controls the battle.  Note: We can lose a battle, but we’ve already won the war. (Thank you God!) No wonder Paul writes a few chapters later in Romans: “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans 12:2 NIV).

So the question becomes, if the mind is the command center and the key to victory, how do I send in reinforcements (to continue the war metaphor)? Verse 6 says by “… letting the Spirit control our mind…,” but what does that look like?

How does one renew the mind? Is it back to what God’s been saying to me over the last several, seemingly unrelated, journal entries? Thus the beauty of journaling… to be able to go back and see how God is speaking in themes… then BAM! He ties it all together. Cool.  Very cool.

Is it back to the spiritual disciplines? Are Romans 12:2 and 1 Cor 9:24-47 related in this way?

We need Truth

2 Chronicles 22 is worse than chapter 21.  If you thought that Jehoram did bad, you should read about his son Ahaziah.  The Bible says that he did evil and he only reigned one year.  I mean, seriously, many of these guys were far from saints.  Jehoram lead the people astray and reigned for eight years.  How bad was Ahaziah that God had him struck down after only 1?  And yes, if you read the chapter, God had him killed.  Now that’s good reading.

So, I asked the question yesterday, “can this happen to us?”  Can we be presented with truth and then just walk away from it?  The answer is yes it can, unless we keep ourselves in a relationship with Christ through the Holy Spirit.  You see, Jehoram was able to lead all of Judah astray.  I kept wondering how.  I woke up this morning with, what I believe to be, the answer.  Isn’t it odd how you can wake up sometimes with an answer that you weren’t even thinking about.  At that time the people were looking to their priests and their leaders to point the way.  They were not seking truth for themselves.  Similarly, they hed no one to guide them to all truth.  Jesus said in John 16:13 that He is sending the Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth.  In John 14 Jesus speaks about sending the Holy Spirit to help us remember all that He has taught.  He also states that Holy Spirirt will convict the world of sin.

I believe that an understanding and acceptance of the work of Holy Spirir in our lives keeps us grounded in our faith and pointed in the right direction.  Jehoram and Ahaziah were able to lead Judah astray because Holy Spirit wasn’t their guiding these people; the people were being guided by their leaders who were supposed to be folowing the Lord.

Again, can this happen to us?  Certainly.  We can choose to walk away from God.  But for us, it will be a choice made in defiance and open rebellion for we have the Spirit of Truth guiding and convisting us along the way.