Was Satan Telling the Truth?

In the Old Testament book of Genesis the third chapter gives the events of the Devil (Satan, Lucifer, the Father of Lies so on and so forth) tempting our first mom, Eve. He is trying to get Eve to consume the one thing in a land of lush plenty which God told Eve and her husband, Adam, not to consume. Contrary to the bit in the movie Walk the Line by the character Jerry Lee Lewis, Adam and Eve could look and touch and think about touching this death-bringing fruit, but they were clearly and definitely not to eat it.

Satan tempted Eve with likeness: 'God knows that when you eat of [the fruit] your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.' The interesting part is when we turn all the way to the New Testament book of 1st John, the third chapter in verse 2 it reads, 'but we know that when [Jesus] appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.'

Satan's temptation of Eve with being like God was evil but in 1st John we are PROMISED to be like God. What is the deal? Was the Father of Lies saying a good thing for once? Is God changing his mind here--eh, maybe they will be like me? Is the Apostle John unfamiliar with the Old Testament? Does he not care about the Old Testament? What's going on?

Perhaps the point that slithers away from us in all this is that God told Adam and Eve not to eat of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. What is it that Adam and Eve lacked in their likeness of God? Were they unsatisfied or did they just want more? The couple, it seems, did not want to be merely human, but actually God. In 1st John the promise is for God to make us like Jesus. In Genesis humanity is abandoned for divinity; in 1st John humanity is completely fulfilled and echoes divinity; in Genesis disobedience brought shame and corruption; in 1st John perfect obedience in Jesus Christ brings redemption and perfection; in Genesis death is born; in 1st John death is forever dead because of Jesus' conquering of it.

In a way Satan was telling the truth in his temptation of Eve, but being the deceiver he is, it was a truth that was a lie: God gave Adam and Eve all he desired them to have and withheld all that they were unable to know. In god's image man was made and in his manor humanity is meant to live, but no where is the human race told to BE God. Man is to reflect God's image by mirroring God in ways, we are not to play or portray God by trying to be him.

Monday is for Morons: 08-28-2011

It’s Monday. Today is the day that reminds us how long a week is and how quickly the weekend goes. Monday is a status—How are you today? It’s Monday—as if we all know what is going on this day, we are all familiar with the feelings that the Monday sun shines on. Monday is the day of whining and pouting. Monday is the day of sighs and complaints. Monday, somehow, is the day I forget what Jesus has done… therefore Monday is for morons like me.

I hope to use this sometimes dreadful day as a quick reminder of God; a simple word to give hope and a fresh, crisp breath in our forgetful souls; something just enough to get us by until the sometimes-good-sometimes-bad Tuesday.

So before you kick your dog, be rude to your spouse, or pour coffee on your co-worker here is God:

Romans 8.31: ‘If God is for us, who can be against us?’ The quick answer is everyone; everyone can be against us, the whole world! But God IS for us. You are in God’s corner. God is fighting on your behalf. God has established victory for YOU! Yes, he already knows your wicked and stupid and miserable and gross sins, but he has forgiven them, all of them. He fights for you; he has won for you; he has succeeded for you! Let’s not let the Monday drag us down but let us instead be glad in Jesus’ work for us. It is finished and nothing will change that. Don’t think that you can outsin the grace God has freely given; kick such thoughts to the curb and keep on keeping on. Take your emptiness to God and be reminded anew of the smile under which you, Christian, always and forever will sit under. The only smile that matters: God’s.

Be Careful, You May Have Terrible Logic

After I decided to follow Jesus I began thinking in some new terms: what is MOST helpful for people?

I don't think that at its core this thinking was sour or bad. The conclusion I reached, however, was bad. It went something along the lines of . . .

What is the greatest need of an individual? To be saved from Hell and put in a right relationship with the God of the Universe.

Therefore the most LOVING thing I can do is tell people about Jesus.

'Woah, that sounds terrible' you say. I hear your sarcasm, don't worry. The Apostle Paul kinda came to this conclusion in the New Testament book of Romans, the tenth chapter: faith comes through hearing and hearing comes through the words of God and no one is going to hear if no one is telling people the word of God THEREFORE go and tell people about all that Jesus did.

The problem with my logical conclusion--and some of yours--is that we somehow forgo the rest of the bible, namely what Jesus did constantly and all the other New Testament letters guide us to do: love others. James says to take care of the orphans and widows as well as generally being one who interacts with the broken and needy world we live in: loving by doing. Paul and Peter say similar things: taking care of the needy, the hungry, the outcast and downtrodden. And Jesus, as I already said, told the inquiring disciple the Gospel According to Luke, You go tell the imprisoned John that the blind receive back their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them.

These words of Jesus are not just to announce that he is the Messiah, they are practical and true words--Jesus did all of these things; Jesus met physical needs. Among missionaries there is a saying that bread creates ears. What this means is that if someone is starving and you try and tell them the good words of Jesus they are deaf to it BECAUSE THEY PHYSICALLY ARE STARVING; they may soon die because of their lack of food. But provide a full stomach and suddenly their attention is yours. For many it is easier to tell some stranger how they are in need of the saving work of Christ, then leave. But God calls his children to love as he loves, namely providing and helping and aiding physically and emotionally as well as spiritually.

It it nothing less than cruel to tell your friend who just lost his wife to cancer, 'Hey man, God is working out this for your good.' Where is the love in that? Sure you conveyed and relayed true information but he wants a companion in this time of great hurt; he needs someone to cry and hurt with; he needs someone who will listen and be there for him. The best thing Job's friends did in the entire time they were with him was sit in silence ALONG SIDE OF HIM for seven days. This is what James was talking about in his book when he says you're an idiot and a devil to say, 'May God bless you, sir' to the guy who asks you for some clothes because it is winter time, it is snowing, and he is clearly freezing, yet you give him no clothes.

The Gospel, the life followers of Jesus Christ live is one that provides hope for the distant future and provides hope to live each second of the day.

The Book of Ecclesiastes says there is a time for everything in this world, which also means there is a time NOT to do some things. Have you been speaking when presence would be most helpful? Have you been ignoring clear needs because in your mind they are tertiary or insignificant needs? You want good logic? Go to God and see how he loves.

One of the most happy repercussions of admitting you are sinful and need the saving work of Jesus is that now you can recklessly love others, meaning you can go overboard in your love for them! This does not mean you should be unthoughtful or unwise or impractical and ultimately unhelpful in how you love others but you no longer need to concern yourself with if I do this wrong will I be held liable for their condemnation?

The new logic for followers of Jesus is now love often and in every way you can.

Now With the Ability to Finally Live: Mark 5.1-20

You now understand that through Jesus' death and resurrection all the sins you ever did are eternally forgiven; not only forgiven, but forgiven by God, whom we all have offended and sinned against. Amazingly our sins are forgiven but also our guilt. In American culture we are very good at second chances, forgiving people, however we always want the offender to readily know that what he did was wrong and that every knows this about the individual; God is not like us in that regard. How wonderful! How mind blowing and illogically delightful! God does NOT say, 'I forgive you but I still remember what you did.' The Bible says that God purposefully and intentionally FORGETS our sins once we have come to him for forgiveness. As one song states clearly, 'No guilt in life, no fear in death.' We have no need as the minister in the book The Scarlet Letter thinks to literally or emotionally or mentally beat ourselves for our sins that have been brought to Jesus. No more guilt! Rarely is it the actual crime that leads people to a suicidal state, rather the guilt of the crime and this God, in his great kindness towards us, says is gone too.

There was a man possessed by demons. It was not some illness or mental dysfunction but actual, real demons which were making the man something unhuman, undignified. First he was in the city he grew up in and the people, due to his state, chained him up for fear of what he might inflict on others; he broke out of these chains and fled to caves, fled to a place where he was alone. In this solitude he discarded his clothing and cut himself: he was tormented by the demons. People, no doubt, could hear his screams of torment at night, people who he was childhood friends with, his own parents.

Jesus came to this man and set him free from the demons, the evil spirits which tormented him. The man who was minutes ago in torment was instantly freed from those who brought him the pain and suffering, the solitude and scorn. The man immediately wanted to follow Jesus, be where this powerful man was, to walk with him, to learn from him; this was not uncommon, for Jesus had the Twelve whom he especially taught but there was almost always a large crowd of others learning from Jesus as well. Oddly though Jesus tells him no: 'Jesus did not permit him but said, "Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you."'

What is Jesus doing?! Clearly this man wants more, he wants to be taught, he was to be trained, he wants to be discipled? Is this one of Jesus' rare ministry mistakes? How could Jesus be so cruel; didn't he know that this man might have a hard time coming back to society? The people of the city, it is said in the passage, were freaked out by what transpired. I thought Jesus was compassionate, let alone wise!

In our eager and earnest desire to do we often forget to live. When one comes to God for forgiveness, for healing that person is free from guilt and shame. Jesus conveys the idea that for many, we have already experienced the living and one true God, now go and live the life you were made to live. Go back to your job as a forgiven person; go back to your friends as a healed individual; go back to your old shoes with new feet. The heart of the Gospel is and has never been some gnostic journey or a search for experiences. The Gospel is forgiveness which Jesus says is freedom. You can live now because you are forgiven. You can love now because YOU are loved.

Sometimes it is easier to go evangelize or read your bible or go to Church or seminary or whatever thing it is you feel you should be doing than it is to live and live simply the way God wired your redeemed soul to do. Let's not make the Gospel less by trying to make it about doing more.

Simon Says What? Acts 8.18

Simon was a guy who was a magician. He made his living, as far as we can tell from the New Testament book of Acts, from performing magic or tricks: he did something and people wanted it. In fact Simon amazed people in Samaria, the town where he polished his gig. Simon was pretty happy about his accomplishments and thought of himself as 'someone great.'

Simon was not some ding-dong pulling rabbits out of his hat, he probably had some real power. Remember in the Old Testament when Moses was trying to convince Pharaoh to let Israel go, some of the Egyptian magicians were able to perform some of the same 'miracles' Moses was able to do; Simon was no illusionist.

Well after Philip came and preached to he people how they were sinners headed straight off the cliff and into God's rightful judgment, but Jesus died for them and His payment was for all who entrusted themselves to Jesus; after the gospel was revealed, people trusted in Jesus, even Simon. So he set aside his chicken bones and wand and followed Philip around as Philip met with people and elaborated on this new found Jesus. Simon wanted to learn from a guy who knew Jesus Christ.

It wasn't too long before Philip, by the working of God's power, did some pretty cool miracles himself. He probably healed some folks and other supernatural things, so much so that Simon, the self proclaimed pretty awesome guy, was flat amazed. More so, Peter and John--some more disciples of Jesus--came into town and by the laying on of hands gave the Holy Spirit of God to the new believers of Jesus Christ. Well Simon is doing head stands at this point and it flat broke on comprehension so he, like any respectable entrepreneur, offers the Apostles some cash so that he may have this same power.

This is when Peter flips out, 'May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money...your heart is not right with God.' Basically Peter said no.

Aw but his intent was good, he wanted to help others; Peter must have been scarred and on a power trip. We see in verse 22 that it is Simon's very intent that was wrong.

We do not have the same gift as Peter, giving the Holy Spirit to others. But we do have the ability to give the Gospel to others and the very same foul intent which resided in Simon is often in us: we want to be the doing person in order to be be the person who is known for doing.

The Gospel, the fantastic news of Jesus paying our sins is free to us, free to all humanity. But the Gospel is never a means of self-promotion or self-recognition; the Gospel is all about Jesus. Jesus did not do what he did in order to provide a tool for his followers to be thought of as holy rollers who got it goin on. Quite the opposite: Jesus died for nobodies to be known and know the Creator and Sustainer of all life, to have a right and good and joyful relationship with God, the Almighty.

Sometimes we use our wisdom and pleasant speech to only gain respect and credit from others; we, being the messenger of the life-giving message, want to get in on the warm-fuzzies and pat ourselves on the back for all we have done. Friends, we have done nothing and Christ has done everything.

The great part is that even when we act like Simon and have moments of stupidity God is graciously accepting us, delighting in our turning afresh to Him. Simon, after receiving his verbal shellacking, says to Peter, 'Pray for me' he desires to walk back to God, confessing his idiocy and sin. No matter what you have done--10 years ago or 2 seconds ago--the path to God is always open and there are never any toll booths.

A Poem (05-06-2011)

I need to think with led,
to get the malaise out of my head;
swiftly salute the river,
undaming silly solutions
explode like a waterfall
pounding lakes below;
forget not as I
travel to and fro,
foam little at my acquittal.
justice will soon be done,
how else could we bear its vacancy?
Caution on its side
roasting the wrong hide.
I haven’t seen so many mistakes
played out in fair ways.
Call them what you will,
they are what they are,
not as perceived.

You JUST Made That Cow: Exodus 32.4

You’re fresh out of Egypt; you saw all of the plagues, you heard the screams from miles away as Egyptian families saw their first-born males collapse into death; you look into your tent and see some of the gold you basically stole from your Egyptian neighbors and you recall how you crossed the Red sea, yet the Egyptian army was eaten by it. Moses who, by God’s direction, has led you to a wilderness and has been gone on the mountain quite awhile. There is a ton of lightening and commotion going on at the top of Sinai, but you reasonably figure it is a storm of sorts and Moses ain’t coming back.

Logically therefore, you get your neighbors and y’all all gather your gold together and make an image out of the gold. You make a super detailed cow out of old earrings , nose rings, bracelets, and headdresses. It looks awesome. Then Aaron declares this thing is not only a god but the very one which led Israel out of Egypt, that land of slavery.

. . . but you JUST made that cow, Aaron. How can you reason that it was the one who freed you? Maybe he had too much strong-drink or wine and got some lamp-shade-helmet idea and ran with it.

It is easy to look at Aaron and Israel as a bunch of fruit-loops at this point--it is not even chronologically possible guys!! But we are wrong to hammer them so. It is not as though he was making all this up as he went along; Aaron was simply giving God a face. He was not saying that this is some new god we invented, rather, LOOK, this thing, this god is now visible, tangible, it is like all the other gods the pagans worship.

Moses just had his socks blown off, literally having a mountain top experience, when he turns the corner to see God’s people groveling before some life-less shining peace of farm animal. It would not be unreasonable for Moses to have in mind some of the things God just told him . . . such as, ‘you shall not make any image of Me.’ So like any normal human being when he encounters foolishness he chunks these sacred stone-etched pieces of literature so that they are broken and new ones need to be made.

God, YHWH, Jehovah, the Almighty, Maker of heaven and Earth, etc. is not like other gods. He, therefore, does not want to be worshipped like other gods. He will not suffice to be downgraded, in a sense, as al the other gods who were made into images resembling fish, frogs, moons, half-fish half-man figurines, and other silly things. But it also awakens the understanding that God is both not confined to any location nor is He is to be shut away or left behind; the God of the Bible is not a figurine which can be totted around like a purse, rather He owns all creation—that’s you and I, my friend.

We can find sympathy for Aaron and Israel: they were just doing what the rest of the world was doing with gods. The problem is God is unequivocally unique and completely unlike any other being to ever exist.