Tag Archives: Jesus

Water Before Spirit and Spirit Before Water

Posted by on April 14, 2012 No comments

For centuries the Christian Church has debated the connection between a believer being baptized with water and the receiving of the Holy Spirit. The fact is they are related, but can be separated by time and space.

There are two passages in particular that speak to this fact.
 

Water Before Spirit:

In Acts 8:12-17 we have an example of Water Before Spirit.

Phillip goes down to Samaria and preaches the Gospel. As he does Acts 8:12 says,  "They believed the preaching of Phillip and we being baptized, men and women alike."

Then in Acts 8:14-17 we are told that "when the apostles heard that Samaria had received the word of God, Peter and John went down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. For it had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. They laid hands upon them and they were receiving the Holy Spirit."

Here we have clear evidence that the Water Baptism precedes the Holy Spirit.
 

Spirit Before Water:

In Acts 10: 44-48 Peter is speaking to Gentiles in the home of Cornelius the Centurion. As he does it says, "the Holy Spirit fell upon those who were listening to the message."

After this, Peter said, "No one can refuse the water for these to be baptized as they have received the Holy Spirit, just as we did."

Peter then ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.

Here we have clear evidence that the Holy Spirit precedes the Water Baptism.


Conclusion:

In both of the above cases it should be understood that, although, from our perspective these events are separated by time and space, in God they are one in Christ.

© 2012, VoiceWind. . .Greg Loveless. All rights reserved.

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Times of Refreshing and Restoration

Posted by on March 1, 2011 No comments

In the book of Acts we read:

19 "Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord;
20  and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you,
21  whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time.”
(Acts 3:19-21 — emphasis mine)

The following are the key Greek terms used in verse 19.

  1. καιροὶ: Times as is in the right time or a season.
  2. ἀναψύξεως:
    • “to cool by blowing”, “to refresh”, “to relieve”, “to strengthen”.
    • It also denotes the drying out and healing of a wound which the surgeon has left exposed to the air when bandaging a broken limb.
    • “liberation”

Translation — “Times of Refreshing”

To understand this passage, context means everything. Peter and John have just healed a man who was lame. It states that

7  “And seizing him by the right hand, he raised him up; and immediately his feet and ankles were strengthened
8  With a leap he stood right up and began to walk and he entered the Temple with them and was walking and leaping and praising God.
9  And the people saw him walking and praising God
10  And they recognized him as the lame man who used to sit at the Beautiful Gate and beg alms, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

Peter then responded to the people…

“Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that the times of refreshing may come from the face of the Lord.”

This is the only use of the phrase "times of refreshing" in the Old or New Testaments.

The “times” and the “refreshing” that Peter speaks of in this passage are in the present age. The “face of the Lord” was just present in the healing of the lame man. Peter is now challenging the people as to whether it is present in them? Peter’s point is it will only come if they repent and turn that their sins may be wiped away. In this the “times of refreshing” may come by the “face” or “presence” of the Lord.

Then in verse 21 we read;

“That He may send Jesus, the Christ, appointed for you, whom heaven must receive until times of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time.” (Acts 3:21 — emphasis mine)

The following are the key Greek terms used in verse 21:

  1. χρόνων: Times as is in the right time or a season.
  2. ἀποκαταστάσεως : restoration not only of what was previous, but to a perfect state as existed before the fall.

Translation — “Times of Restoration”

This refers to “time as a duration”. Thus the “times of restoration” speaks to the lasting nature of a world restored to its original purpose.

So in these three verses, Acts 3:19-21, we have the tension between what “already is” and the “not yet fully”.

Those, like the lame man, who believe, come to the “face of the Lord” and are refreshed, in the here and now. And yet they still reside in a fallen and broken world.

However, there will come a time when all things will be restored. When those who participate in the “times of refreshing” will also participate in the “times of restoration”. While those who stand outside the “times of refreshing”, will stand outside the “times of restoration”.

This is a clear warning from Peter to those in the Temple who have seen the healing of the lame man. Many of them are waiting for the “times of restoration”. In so doing, they are missing out on the current “times of refreshing” in which they could participate and partake.

Peter’s point is they should not wait for the “times of restoration” and expect to be included in this new world. Rather, in order to participate in the restoration to come, they must repent and turn so the “times of refreshing” may come from the “face of the Lord”. Once they participate in the “times of refreshing”, here and now, they are assured they will also participate in the future “times of restoration”.

So we also are not to passively wait for things to change and then hope to participate in the restored new world. Rather, we are to actively participate in the restoration of all things in the future, by participating in the “times of refreshing”, here and now. And we do this through repentance that allows us to partake of the presence of the Lord — or literally, to have the very “face of the Lord” take up residence in the events of our lives, today, here and now as it will in the times of the restoration of all things.

© 2011, VoiceWind. . .Greg Loveless. All rights reserved.

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Expects a Body Sees a Gardner

Posted by on November 9, 2010 No comments

This is a powerful image painted by John in chapter 20:14-17. Mary is looking for Jesus. She turns and sees a man standing next to her but does not recognize him as Jesus. After all how could it be Jesus, he is dead. She is looking for his body.

Like all of us Mary's vision is influenced by her expectations. She expects Jesus to be dead so she sees only what her mind will allow her to see – she sees the Gardner. This cannot be Jesus, after all he is dead.

Then Jesus, standing next to her, calls her name. It is then that Mary recognizes the one who was standing next to her the entire time as Jesus.

In life we are all Mary. We go through life looking for the right job, the right partner, the right place to live, the right school to attend. The list goes on and on. And all the time we are looking we miss what is right in front of us.

In faith, we are all Mary. We go through life looking for Jesus — How to serve him. How to get close to him. What to do to allow him to get close to us. How to worship him. And yet the whole time Jesus is standing in the midst of our lives, and yet we do not see him. All we see is the Gardner, the janitor, the homeless, the widow, the orphan, our neighbor, our coworker, etc.

Why do we miss Him? Because we are looking into the tomb of our lives and have certain expectations. These expectation limit what we see. But what if we could see all the potential? What if we could see what could be, rather than what is? What if we could see what is actually there?

Do you here Him calling? Do you hear Him calling your name? Do you see Him? Do you see Him standing next to you? Or are you looking into the tomb of your life? Are you looking for the dead among the living or the living among the dead?

John 20:14-17

© 2010, VoiceWind. . .Greg Loveless. All rights reserved.

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Where Christ Is We Are

Posted by on June 15, 2010 No comments

John 14:3 reads, "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to my side, that where I am, you also are."

First, the Greek term usually translated "receive" is παραλήμψομαι. However, it's meaning is not passive but active and even aggressive. Hence it not only means "receive" but "take to oneself".

It describes what a parent would do when a child steps into the street in front of on coming traffic. The parent reaches out and takes the child to themselves and to safety.

This is much more descriptive of the actually meaning of the text. Christ is not coming back to receive us but is coming back to "take us to his side".

The other important part of this passage is the tense of the verbs. παραλήμψομαι has a future tense to it meaning "I will come and take you to my side". 

This makes sense. Christ is speaking this at the Passover. He will be crucified, he will die, he will be buried and then he will rise. He will then come back to them. All of this is a future event relative to the night of the Passover.

However, most then translate the next part of Christ saying as, "That where I am, you may be also." Although this makes the English smooth, it is an incorrect translation and is misleading.

Literally in the Greek it reads, "That where I am, also you are." The meaning is clear. Once the future death and resurrections takes place, Christ will return in the future to take them to His side. And what will this accomplish? Not that they "may also be there" but that "where He is, we are".

In other words, once Christ secures the victory over death and sin, in His death and resurrection, He takes us along side Himself, and in so doing, where He now is (at the right hand of the Father on the other side of death in the resurrection) we are also there now. Thus this is not a future or potential state. It is the state we reside in, at this very moment, as believers in Christ. 

© 2010, VoiceWind. . .Greg Loveless. All rights reserved.

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Not Belief but Confession Allows Entry into God’s Glory

Posted by on May 27, 2010 No comments

John 12:40 says, “He has blinded their eyes and He hardened their heart, so that they would not see with their eyes and perceive with their heart, and be converted and I heal them.”

John the writes in 12:41, "This Isaiah said because he (Isaiah) saw His (the Lord's) glory and he spoke concerning him."

So what John is saying is Isaiah saw the glory of our Lord and prophesied that when some men saw it, they would not be drawn to it, rather they would be blinded by this glory.

John gives proof of this in 12:42 "Nevertheless many even of the rulers believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue;"

So there were many who believed. And among these many of these were rulers (people of high standing in their community). But even though they believed in Christ, they would not confess him because they feared being cut off from the synagogue.

John then concludes this section by saying, " for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God."

Two points:

  1. 1.The term translated "cut off from the synagogue" is the Greek term ἀποσυνάγωγοι. It comes from the root wood άγω which literally mean lead or bring. It is then given the prefix of συν which means with, in company with or together. Thus the meaning of συνάγωγ (synagogue) is assembly or Jewish place of worship. It also takes on the meaning of the "holy assembly" because God is present in the assembly of his people.

    So the Greek term ἀποσυνάγωγοι is συνάγωγοι with the prefix ἀπο added. ἀπο means "from" or "away from". This gives the meaning of being "put out of the synagogue.

    But remembering the original meaning of συνάγωγ, that it is the holy gathering of God's people. So to be cut off from this literally means to be cut off from the holy or sacred assembly or the holy presence of God among His people.
     

  2. The Greek term translated "approval" in verse 42 is δόξαν which is usually translated "glory". Literally it means "what is not concealed", "denotes the recognition which anyone finds of a person or what belongs to him". It then moves to the meaning of "appearance, form or aspect" or "that appearance of a person that attracts attention or COMMANDS recognition, splendor, brilliance, glory". It is not the person themselves that attracts attention but the appearance that attracts attention".

Basically what John is saying is, "They want an appearance that is acknowledges and recognized by man rather than the "glory" or "appearance" of Christ. Even though they believed in Christ, and believed Christ was true, they could not confess this because they would loose the recognition among men. They would be cut off from the holy among men.

The reason the above is important is we Christians today, when we see in Scripture the terms, "Jews", Jewish Rulers or synagogues, we can too easily attribute the content of these passages to "them" the Jews rather than open up the possibility that this content could just as easily apply to us.

In light of this, it is important that we not stop at "put out of the synagogue" because it is too easy to then assume this passage does not apply to us, today. Rather, we need to dig deeper into the base meaning of the terms as I outlined above. In this case what we discover is the rulers who believed in Jesus, would not openly confess to this because they feared being "cut off from the sacred gathering" or they feared being cut off from what men honored as sacred because they preferred the "appearance or glory" of the connection to the "assembly" to the connection to the glory of the truth that Christ represented.

Most Christians do not belong to a synagogue, but we do choose to follow those persons and groups whose appearance would give us an advantage in the appearance of being holy. And we often do this even when following these persons or group works in direct opposition to the work of Christ and service to Him.

When we do this we are just like the Jewish Rulers who preferred the "glory" of men rather than the "glory" of God.
 

© 2010, VoiceWind. . .Greg Loveless. All rights reserved.

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Does Hate Give Life? – John 12:19-26

Posted by on May 19, 2010 No comments

In John 12:19 we are told that some Greeks who were in Jerusalem for the Feast approached Andrew and asked to "see" Jesus. This is an interesting term. They did not want to meet with Jesus, debate with him, ask him a question, be healed, etc. They just wanted to "see" him.

Christ's response is "Truly the hour has come for the son of man to be glorified." Jesus then follows this up with comments about the fact that a seed is alone unless it falls to the earth and dies, then it becomes something new, a plant that bears much fruit. Then he says those who love their life in this world, will loose it while those who hate their life in this would will find eternal life.

What kind of response is this? The Greeks have come to see Jesus and rather than taking advantage of the opportunity, Jesus response appears to be a total disconnect as he starts talking about himself and then finishes with what are actually some very negative comments – that you must hate your life, etc.

The answer to this is actually located in the first and last verses of this section — verses 19 and 26. The Greek term used to describe the Greek's request simply means "see" or "meet". This implies that while they were in town for the Feast they wanted to take advantage of the opportunity and see this famous person, Jesus they had heard so much about. Jesus, understanding this, cuts to the truth of the matter.

Jesus is making the point that our focus should not be all about this life. Rather our focus should be on eternal life. After all, we are eternal beings and yet we get distracted by events in this life that will not last. When you think about it, focusing on this life really makes no sense in the grand scheme of things because this part of our life in this world will one day perish. In light of that we should be focused on the eternal part of our life.

To get this point across Jesus uses a common teaching method where he pushes the pendulum to an extreme to break through the crowds comfortable thought process.

By saying, "You must hate your life in this world" Christ is not saying there is nothing good about one's life in this world. Rather he is saying that if you love your life in this world, when this world ends, so will your love and your life.

The proper approach is to love our eternal life more than this life so that we can bring our life in this world under the authority and control of our eternal life. That portion of our life in this world that matches our eternal life will continue, eternally.

After pushing the pendulum to an extreme by stating "he who hates his life in this world will keep it into eternal life" Jesus then says, "If anyone is to serve me he must follow me, and where I am, there also will be my servants. Thus, if anyone serves me the Father will honor him."

These final words in this section are Jesus' response to the Greeks who just want to "see" him because they were in town and have heard of him. Jesus wants them to understand that life is more than being connected to the popular. Life is found in true service to the eternal. We are more than the life we have in this world. To place this life above eternal life cuts us off from our true self and our true destiny, which is life eternal.

Since we should not be focused only on this life that will end, but eternal life, are we then to just sit around and hate this life and wait for the eternal life to come? No! We are to use this life in service to the eternal life. To the extent that we do this, we can love our life in this would without compromise.

Thus this life has value to the extent it serves eternal life.

And beyond this, not just our eternal life, but in our service to Christ, we give eternal life to others as well.

© 2010, VoiceWind. . .Greg Loveless. All rights reserved.

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The Gospel of John – Teaching Through Misunderstanding

Posted by on April 28, 2010 No comments

The Gospel of John uses a simple and yet very powerful teaching technique called "misunderstanding".

On several occasions when Jesus has a conversation with someone, there is a misunderstanding. This usually revolves around a single term that has a double meaning. Jesus intends one meaning while the other person understands this term to mean something much different.

A few examples of this are listed below:

Verse Greek Term English Translation Jesus Meaning Hearer's Meaning
3:3 ἄνωθεν again, above, beginning, first above, beginning born again physically
4:10 ζῶν live, living, running, alive, life life/living running water verses well water
11:23 ἀναστήσεται raise, resurrection raise now resurrection on the last day

 

Why is this technique used? Because it creates a simple yet powerful mental process.

The hearer is thinking one way while Jesus' teaching will require that they think in a new way. To simply present the new way would allow the hearer to continue to keep the concepts disconnected. And once they are disconnected it is possible to do some mental tricks and still hold onto the old while we mentally say we also believe in the new.

But when the misunderstanding is used it forces us to consider both the new and the old next to one another. This accomplishes two important points.

  1. It forces those who hear the teaching to acknowledge that there is a new meaning
  2. In the future, any time a person thinks of the old, the new will now intrude upon it and take it captive.

 

Thus, teaching through misunderstanding allows the new idea to be intimately connected to the old way of thinking. By doing so any time the old enters the heart and mind of the hearer, the new will now intrude. This brings about true change.

© 2010, VoiceWind. . .Greg Loveless. All rights reserved.

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Jesus and Martha’s Hostile Meeting over the Raising of Lazarus – John 11:20-45

Posted by on April 26, 2010 No comments

In John 11:20 it says “When Martha heard that Jesus was coming she went to meet him.” The Greek term that is translated “meet” is ὑπήντησεν.This term is rarely used in the New Testament. In fact including this verse it occurs only five times. Two of these are used to describe the meeting between Martha and Jesus after Lazarus’ death – John 11:20 and 27. The other three are in Matthew 8:28, Luke 8:27, John 12:18.

The term ὑπήντησεν is interesting because it implies the following:

   1. To actively go towards another to meet them
   2. To meet with the idea of stealth
   3. To meet and be unperceived
   4. To meet without noise
   5. To meet without notice
   6. To go to meet as in a military campaign
   7. To meet as in a hostile meeting

Use in John 12:18:
In John 12:18 it is used of those who come to meet Jesus as he enters Jerusalem on Palm Sunday because some are testifying regarding the raising of Lazarus, an event in the Gospel of John that is a turning point in the confrontation between Jesus and the Jewish authorities.

17  “So the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead, continued to testify about Him.
18  For this reason also the people went and met Him, because they heard that He had performed this sign.” (John 12: 17-18)

Use in Matthew and Luke:
Both Matthew and Luke use the term in similar stories to describe a meeting and/or confrontation between Jesus and demon possessed men. Their use of the term carries with it the idea of “going towards to meet” and “stealth or surprise” and with the intent of a “hostile meeting”.

28  “When He came to the other side into the country of the Gadarenes, two men who were demon-possessed met Him as they were coming out of the tombs. They were so extremely violent that no one could pass by that way.” (Matthew 8:28)

27  “And when He came out onto the land, He was met by a man from the city who was possessed with demons; and who had not put on any clothing for a long time, and was not living in a house, but in the tombs.” (Luke 8:27)

Implications for Martha and Jesus’ Meeting in John 11:20:
So in light of this, what are we to make of John’s use of this term to describe Martha’s meeting with Jesus outside the village?

“Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

This is both a statement of faith and yet it is also confrontational. “If you had been here…” What does this statement convey?

  •  Is it said as if pleading? “If only you had been here”.
  •  Is it said as with the intent to comfort? “If you had been here I know it would have been OK but don’t worry about it.”
  •  Or is it confrontational in nature? “You know, if you had been here, none of this would have happened.”

Since the written word does not carry the voice inflection we have to look to the how the writer sets up the scene. And in this case John is very deliberate. He switches from the normal term he uses to describe a meeting to the rarely used term ὑπήντησεν. Why? To let us know the nature of this meeting between Martha and Jesus will be different.

In addition to the use of this very unusual term to describe the meeting, John also conveys the nature of the meeting between Martha and Jesus in the actual dialogue. Beginning in 11:21 through 11:27 there is a series of very quick back and forth statements between Martha and Jesus.

  1. John 11: 21 “Martha said to Jesus…”
  2. John 11:23 “Jesus said to her…”
  3. John 11:24 “Martha said to him…”
  4. John 11:25 “Jesus said to her…”
  5. John 11:27 “She said to him…”

In the Greek this is a quick exchange with several of the sentences starting with the exact same phrase as if Martha and Jesus are on equal footing, sparing one another.

John provides additional information about the context of this meeting at the end of the story. When Jesus is at the tomb and he says, “Remove the stone”.  Martha’s response is “Lord, there will be a stench for he has been dead four days”. This indicates that although her words could be interpreted that she believes Jesus can ask anything of God, her actual belief is now that Lazarus is dead, this is a game changer and Jesus cannot change this reality until the last day.

So to summarize the four:

  1. The term ὑπήντησεν emphasizes the idea of confrontation and even hostility.
  2. Martha’s conditional statement “if you had been here my brother would not have died” can be both a statement of faith, or an accusation.
  3. And then the way John writes the verbal exchange in the conversation carries with it the idea of sparing and confrontation.
  4. Finally, Martha’s response at the tomb.

From these we conclude that John is giving strong indication that Martha’s statement, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died” is confrontational. It is a confrontational accusation that Jesus missed his chance to alter this event. For Martha Jesus’ ability to act is confined to that time when Lazarus was still alive.

Even the statement “I believe you are the Christ, the Son of God, he who has come into the world” is disconnected from who Christ is in the present situation. Basically Martha is saying, “You could have done something when Lazarus was alive, but now that he is dead you can’t, but you will be able to do something about it in the future, on the last day because you are the Son of God. But on the other hand Jesus, although this is nice and everything, it really doesn’t do me a whole lot of good right now because, you see, Lazarus is still dead.”

This means Martha’s statement, “Even now I know whatever you ask of God, God will give you” although eloquent, does not include her own immediate intimate present. By that I mean it may include a lot of things but it does not include bringing Lazarus back from the dead. And since Lazarus’ death is the cause of her grief and sorrow, what Jesus can ask God to do does not include altering the events and the sorrow she feels at that moment. For Martha, what Jesus will ask God, and what God will give Him, will not effect the present moment, in which she now lives. Jesus may have been the Son of God that has come into the world, but for Martha this did not include her current world that was without Lazarus.

You see Martha was so intent on confronting Jesus about the injustice of Lazarus’ death that she missed an even greater gift that was available to her — God’s presence in Jesus, in her midst, even in the face of death.

It is to this very point that John’s teaching displays itself as simple and yet powerful. John is warning all of us that we are all like Martha! We believe in God. We believe God acts. We believe God answers prayer. But like Martha, we place all of this belief in far off locations or in a distant time in the future.

This allows us to continue with two actions:

  1. We can believe without risk because we have moved all the events we believe in out into the future beyond our present circumstances where they cannot be tested and then interfere with our belief system.
  2. And we can still confront God in a hostile way about his in action in the present moment.

This makes us feel like we are communicating with God. When in reality we are simply confronting Him that things are not as we would do them. This allow us to then hold onto a belief without risk because it has been removed to a distant time and place.

© 2010, VoiceWind. . .Greg Loveless. All rights reserved.

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LifeChurch.tv Series Red Letter Day the Message My God, My God

Posted by on March 20, 2010 No comments

I presented the following Message during the LifeChurch.tv "Hand Off" to the local Campus Pastors for the Message “Forsaken” which is part of the Series “Red Letter Day”. 

The other day as I went to get a cup of coffee I turned on the radio and a news alert caught my attention. Chelsea King, a 17 year old high school student who went for a run after school near San Diego, — they had just found her body. I listened as we often do to such news. When the news alert finished I turned off the news and returned to my office to continued my daily routine.

As I sat down I checked my email. I am a Premiere Elite Fast Pitch Softball coach and specialize in giving private pitching lessons. I saw an email from Nancy, the mother of one of my pitchers. I opened it thinking she wanted to schedule a lesson. But the email contained a link and a short note: "Coach, is this your pitcher?"

I clicked on the link and it took me to the Obituary Section of the Kansas City Star. The last name in the obituary matched the last name of one of my former pitchers. I panicked as I scanned the information looking for a first name. Then I found it — "Margaret!" Then I found the name of the children. One of them was named Emily. At first I felt relief, but then I was again saddened. It was not my pitcher who had died. It was her mom and her mom was only my age, much too young to die.

My thoughts went back to the news alert. Someone who cares so little about life that they rapped and murdered a 17 year old girl and yet they have their health. While my pitcher's mom who was a Christian and one of the nicest ladies I ever knew had her life cut short. Over and over again the word "WHY" came to my thoughts.

Emily played two years for me at the high school where I coached. During those two years Margaret was my scorekeeper. But she was much more than a score keeper. She cared about the players and took care of them. The word in the dugout was, "Margaret will fix it." "Margaret will know what to do." "See Margaret, she'll take care of it." And she did. In the midst of the chaos of playing double headers in competitive fast pitch softball, Margaret was an oasis of safety for my players.

One time, during warm ups, one of our players ripped a seam in her uniform shorts. Margaret took the shorts and ran home, sewed them and returned before the game started. 

Margaret also kept score for the Premiere Fast Pitch Softball team Emily played on during the summer. When Emily went off to college and was too old to continue to play for this team, Margaret continued to travel with the team and keep score. But as Margaret was apt to do she did much more than keep score. Again, she took care of the players and even the coaches.

As timing would have it, I read the obituary during lent so my thoughts went to the words that Jesus spoke while on the cross, "My God, My God why have you forsaken me" (Mark 15:34).

This is a difficult passage. After all Christ was the Son of God and yet he cries out asking why God has forsaken him. How can God forsake God? As Martin Luther once commented, “God forsaking God! Who can understand it?”

These words of Jesus are actually the first verse of Psalm 22 that was written 600 years before Christ. It is important to remember that during the time of Christ paper was very expensive and thus in short supply so most people had to memorize most if not all of scripture because they could not afford to have a copy to read and refer to. So when Christ cries out these words he is no doubt remembering this passage he had memorized. And yet he is doing more than remembering or quoting it. He is identifying with it, and taking it on as his own at that moment.

When we hit those moments in life where we ask, “Why?” we need to remember three things. That God is good, God is for us and that God is with us.

God is Good:

When Christ was called “good teacher” he responded, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.” (Mark 10:18)

It is interesting that in Genesis, when God creates he says “It is good.” He says this not once, but seven times. In fact the last time he says, “It is very good.” The repetition is interesting. It is almost as if God, like a parent is speaking to a child and saying, no matter what happens, remember the creation is good.

What is even more powerful about this statement is God does not speak this as part of the creation, from within creation. He speaks this from His vantage point as the creator. He does not speak it from that moment in time only. Rather, He knows what is at that moment, as well as all the possibilities that might come to past. He even knows what I might experience in the future with the death of Margaret and yet He says, “It is very good.”

So when we hit those times when we ask “Why?” we must remember that God is good!

God is for Me:

“If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31)

When Christ cries out “My God, my God…” he is identifying with Psalm 22. Psalm 22 is a lament. A lament is a prayer for help that arises out of our pain. The Psalmist calls out to God and presents his suffering and confronts his enemies.

Israel believed that their God was a God of life. Their God was a God who freed from oppression. In fact this is how He showed Himself to be God. Yet the Psalmist is oppressed and God seems not to respond so he confronts God directly and asks “Why?”

This cry of “Why?” to God should not be confused with despair. When we despair we give up. Rather, it is a cry of pain and confusion. And what causes the most pain and confusion for the Psalmist is he has been faithful to God and yet he is mocked by his enemies for this very faithfulness. "All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads: He trusts in the LORD; let the LORD rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him." (Psalm 22: 7-8)

In this condition, the cry to God does not equal giving up on God. Rather, the cry is an affirmation that even though God does not seem close, God is close enough to hear his cry. It is one last act of faith even in the face of death.

After the Psalmist speaks to God, in the next verses, 12-21, he speaks of his enemies. It is clear that while God seems far off, his enemies are very near and their attacks take their toll both physically and emotionally to the point that he feels death is close.

The phrase,  “I am poured out like water” may very well refer to his tears. All that he is as a person is in these tears. His tears are all he has to offer. Yet even though his entire being is poured out like tears, this is not enough to quench death. His end is to be laid in the “dust of death”.

Finally in the last three verses of this section there are urgent calls for his God to come close, deliver and save him. God can make his situation right because God is for him.

God is with me:

“God has said, never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5)

In the second part of Psalm 22, verses 22-31, the prayer turns to praise. He is no longer surrounded by enemies but family and friends in the congregation of faith.

He receives a meal.

After this the circle of praise moves from the psalmist, to his family, to his friends, to all of Israel and finally to all the nations of the earth. But this is not all, the praise also moves to those who came before him in time as well as those who will come after him.

If the psalmist felt isolated and alone in space and time at the beginning of his cry, “My God, my God why…”, now at the end of the prayer, the praise to God goes out to fill all space and time.

The praise encompasses far more than his localized world of pain and suffering. Praise of God, God, and the psalmist all win out.

It is because of this that he knows “God is with me!”

Conclusion:

Faith in Jesus does not bring us deliverance from death but deliverance through death. Through the death of Jesus the meaning of death has been forever changed. Death is no longer a separation from life and family. It is now the path to the ultimate life and family.

When we cry out we are changed. First because our cry touches Jesus cry. And second, when Jesus cried out he entered into each of our cries. The moment we cry out and became a follower of Jesus we become a part of His praise that stood on the other side of death. We stand with him in family, friends and all believers from all time and space. This is the resurrection.

It is interesting that in both Gospel accounts Christ never reached the praise portion of the prayer. Why?  because this is on the other side of death. His meal, his family, his friends, the faithful among all the nations — all of this is on the other side of his death, in the resurrection. This is why we say “Yes” to follow Christ. When we do we become a part of his praise on the other side of death.

So when you hit those times that cause you to ask "Why?" remember, God is good, God is for us and God is with us.

Let’s rejoin Craig as he wraps up this weeks Message, “Forsaken”.

© 2010, VoiceWind. . .Greg Loveless. All rights reserved.

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The Tithe, the Law and the High Priest

Posted by on January 29, 2010 No comments

The following was a post I made to the Christian Professionals Worldwide topic on "When it comes to Tithing, is the 10% before taxes or after, gross or net pay?"

After reading the posts on this topic with interests there were a couple of issues that caused me concern. The following was my reply.

Old Testament Verses New Testament Dichotomy:
The constant appeal to the OT/NT dichotomy as if the two never met is concerning. Too often the OT and the Law is set up as a straw man to be knocked down by one's NT and grace. It is done to give one a sense of superiority — I am not like them. This is always a false dichotomy. Even more, it is dangerous and kills living a life of service to Christ.

Christ Frees Us to Fulfill the Law not Break the Law:
The idea that Christ's death and resurrection gives one license to not follow the law; and the idea that this act is our freedom in Christ is not only sophomoric but is false. Christ completes the law and in completing it, it stands. When we fall short of it, because He completed it, we stand in Him. The idea that we are free from the law is not an argument for freedom but a license to escape responsibility.

Christ's Fulfillment of the Law Empowers Us to Go Beyond the Law:
Christ's perfect fulfillment of the law does not negate keeping the law but empowers us to meet the law and also frees us to go beyond the law. A case in point is "If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles." (Matt 5:41) Very simply the presence of Christ in us calls us beyond the law. This "beyond" is not against the law. Rather, this "beyond" embraces and includes the law. Now that the Law is fulfilled, even more than the law is now ours to freely choose to do. This freedom kills the false NT/OT and Law/Grace dichotomy by joining the ability to meet the law and the freedom and power to go beyond the law, in One, Christ Jesus, living within us.

The OT Requirement for Beyond the Tithe Supports the Tithe:
The argument that the required tithe was greater than 10% (24%), does not negate the tithe rather it installs it as a beginning point. Thus far from being an argument defeating the requirement for the tithe, it substantiate it in full. Tangled arguments, pressing truth, tend to circle back in on their owners and give clarity to the truth while exposing the weakness of the attempted clarifying argument.

No Temple Equals Greater Priests:
The idea that because there is no "temple" there are no priest is totally false if not cynical on its face. The OT temple and the priesthood was a foreshadowing and an imperfect representation of the prefect priesthood God gave us in His Son Christ, Jesus. Jesus is the High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. The same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead, lives in us. So through the Holy Spirit Christ, the High Priest, lives within us. We then are also priests. But even greater priests than the OT priests because our High Priest never dies. The fact that there is no longer a temple and no longer priests like there were in the OT, does not negate the presence of priests. Rather, the lack of a temple means the imperfect priesthood has passed and the perfect priesthood has taken up residence. Thus the lack of a temple does not negate the priesthood, but rather installs the priesthood fully and permanently.

A quick summary of holiness flow:
From the Holy of Holies the High Priest obtained the presence of the Lord. This was distributed to the other priest. The priest then distributed this presence to the head of each house hold. The head of each house hold distributed this presence to their house hold.

But the moment someone in that house hold came in contact with something considered unclean, for example a Gentile, the presence was lost and the law prescribed what that person and/or house hold had to do to return to the presence.

Fast forward to the NT. Paul writes, "For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy." (I Cor. 7:14)

Because of Christ's victory, Paul has reversed the holiness flow. Rather than the believer being made unclean by the unbeliever, the believer, with Christ the High Priest living within them, transforms those with whom they come in contact, even the unbeliever. In essence, the believer carries the Holy of Holies with them always and as a result each event and person they come in contact with, is, or should be, transformed by this presence.

Today, a group of believers all possessing this presence have a shepherd to guide, lead and care for them and they call them by various names – Pastor, Minister, Reverend. Caring for their pastor's needs is not a freedom to choose or not to choose. It is a command. And yet those with the presence of the high priest, Christ, fulfill not only the command to care for these, but are free to go the second mile. But know this truth; one cannot go the second mile until they have gone the first mile. One cannot freely give until they have tithed.

© 2010, VoiceWind. . .Greg Loveless. All rights reserved.

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