Jesus' Wife?

I've seen little of the "Jesus' wife" story, but thought this article offers the best evaluation.

The World's Rejects Eat and Drink

Jesus braced his disiples for rejection by the world. But then, He sent them out into it, knowing they would be rejected. Because that is what Jesus Himself did. We come here to this table as the world's rejects. And that is just fine with us because we are Christ's redeemed. Nobody likes rejection. But it's a little easier to take when we know it is inevitable, and we know we are on the right side. The table draws the line. Nobody should eat and drink who rejects Christ. Everyone who accepts Him, who accepts the rejection of the world with Him, should eat and drink.

4/1/12 - Palm Sunday

Serve the Suffering Surrenderer

Jesus had a warrant out for his arrest, much of the last week of his earthly ministry. The cowards led by caiaphas eventually use judas to arrest him at night, apart from the crowds who loved him. Peter figures this is the moment, when Jesus will restore the kingdom from these compromisers.

But the real battle happened while Peter was sleeping in Gethsemane, when Jesus overcame the temptation to set aside His Fathers will. Jesus COULD get enough legions to defeat Rome, but how would that accomplish his mission? Kingdom transformation is the big picture goal the gospel, but service and sacrifice, crosses and losses come first. Peter and the people are ready to lay down their lives fighting for Jesus. But once they realize Jesus is going to let Himself be arrested, they flee. 

We would rather fight and die, than serve and sacrifice for a suffering surrenderer.  But this is your life. Most of the time, you are called not to a sensational down in flames sacrifice that wows everyone. You are called to the quiet service that few notice. The service that doesn't feel at all like victory. We die to our desires, daily.

4/1/12 - Palm Sunday

Jail for a spanking?

So it now appears to be illegal to spank your child in the state of Delaware.

In a law against child abuse (we're all against it, just to be clear), physical injury is defined broadly as pain, and subject to a one year prison sentence.

Law and politics matter.

The cultural press is starting to shift - not just to endorse and mainstream immorality, but to condemn and punish a Christian lifestyle.

Setting aside covetousness, not desire

Jesus Himself just before His death, did not set aside ALL desire. 

He wrestled to the ground the temptation to take the easy way. And He prayed to His father that His desire was for us to be with Him, with His Father in glory. 

We have a foreshadowing of that here. We commune with Christ. We are with Him. This is what He wanted all along, why He came and taught, suffered and died for us. 

Jesus was perfectly content in fellowship with His Father, but dis-satisfied to leave us outside of that fellowship. He wanted for us what He had. And He has seen the labor of His soul, and been satisfied. He sat down at the right hand of God, His work finished. Let us also be content and at rest in His work done for us.

3/25/12

Power Should Serve

It happened among Jesus’ closest disciples on His way to Jerusalem to die for them. They argued along the way about who was the greatest. And again here, in Luke 22, at the Last Supper, they are arguing again about who is first.

Jesus reminds us that greatness and power are there to serve others. He has all power to call down angels and blink planets out of existence, and He stoops to wash their feet.

We need to lay down our coveting selfish desires for what we want, and use what God has given us to help others be clean, fed, and holy. Let us confess our sin of coveting influence, popularity, money, and positions of power. 

Remember that these are often secret desires that others don’t see. Ps 90:8 - You have set our iniquities before You, Our secret sins in the light of Your countenance. Heb 4:13 - And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.

3/25/12

Holiness: Pursue It!

On Christian Reconstruction

Sometimes it's really helpful to read an article about you or your friends written by a neutral observer.

In doing some research I found this article, and thought I would pass it on

Review: The Unity Factor

The Unity Factor by Larry W. Osborne

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Pretty decent, practical look at church leadership. Covers conflict, how to work as a team, trust, what NOT to worry about, how to introduce change, etc. Has a fair dose of corporate mentality, but it's not too detrimental.

Beneficial for any church leader facing some conflict. So... any church leader!



View all my reviews

How to Suffer

1 Peter 2:18-25
"Servants, be submissive to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh. For this is commendable, if because of conscience toward God one endures grief, suffering wrongfully. For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God. For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps:“Who committed no sin,
Nor was deceit found in His mouth”;
who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously; who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls."

When we suffer for doing good, it is very easy to get self-righteous and argumentative. "Can you believe what she did just because I tried to help?" Can you take it patiently, or do we need to fight back? We have an example to follow, and you hold His covenant memorial in Your hands. Jesus had a choice in Gethsemane, to exact blood from Romans and Sadducees, or to pour out His own. He could call down legions of angels to spill blood and save Himself, or He could spill His own blood and save you. Whose blood is this cup about? It is a new covenant in HIS blood. When we face trials and adversity, we have an example to follow. He has shown us the way and won our salvation by His grace. Send and be sent for others to know Christ. Spend and be spent for others to grow in Christ. But first, rest here in God’s grace, that it is Christ’s blood that satisfies the Father and brings you into His favor.

3/18/12

Extended Preparation

In the season of Lent, we remember the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for us in His earthly ministry. When He was 12, He already knew that His Father’s house was in Jerusalem, not in Nazareth. Yet He returned with Joseph and Mary and was subject to them. His public ministry begins 18 years later. This is a great lesson of Lent. As Jesus did, we have in our lives long seasons of preparation. Abraham, Noah, Moses, Elijah, all had long periods when God promised and declared things, but they had much to learn and long to wait. Will we be faithful stewards of God’s house while we wait? Will we learn obedience through the things we suffer, as Jesus did? Will we keep His return in mind, remembering for whom we work, why we deny ourselves?

3/18/12

On Confessing Together

Our order of worship is meant to include all the many facets of our relationship with God. Adoring worship, reading the Bible, praying to God, times of silent meditation. And at this point, repentance and broken-heartedness over our sin. Corporate worship where we all do these things together, needs to be mindful of one another. When we are alone and repenting, we may sob, shout, cry and take a long time crying out to God. In this service, we don’t do the same things, only all in the same room. We can’t call up intense emotions on the spot, and we don’t need to. This doesn’t mean we aren’t turning to God with all our heart, fasting and weeping. It means we can’t all be emotional at the same time together. This has the illusion of looking cold and formal, but what’s really going on is that we are trying to repent and worship together as the church, not just individuals who happen to be in the same room. That said, repentance before God does need to be heart-rending, not outward only. We say words and go through motions of repenting every week, and every week you are here you do this with us. But it is up you to rend your heart and grieve for your sins.

Commentators

Here is some commentary fun, from studying the Ten Commandments. Each writer has his own style that annoys or endears.
This is meant as light hearted fun, exaggerating their style and/or content for comedic effect. No offense is intended to any of these men, who far surpass me in wisdom.


Charles Hodge - the principle is evident, even from the conscience and natural reason.

Thomas Watson - the commandment has eight parts and six uses...

Rushdoony - this commandment shows the evils of the over-reaching state, and why the government should not be involved in education. A return to Biblical Law is the answer to our problems.

a Brakel - we see this commandment violated in 1 Sam 16:1; 2 Kings 3:5; Ecc 5:3; Deut 25:24, enjoined in Deut 25:24....

Herman Hoeksema - THERE IS NO COMMON GRACE!!!!

Reading notes

The sacraments were given to the Church; they are not for private consumption, administered by anyone. Not just anyone officiates entrance into citizenship in a nation (baptism) or enforces exile from it (excommunication). Jesus gave the keys of His Kingdom to His apostles (Matt 16:19) who passed them on to elders (Titus 1:5). (Pages 177-78).

Abraham received the sign and seal of the covenant of grace: circumcision (Gen 17; Acts 7:8; Rom 4:11). Being uncircumcised was a sign you were a stranger to the covenant of promise (Eph 2:11-12).

Baptism is the circumcision of Christ, or signs and seals it, so that it replaces circumcision as the sign and seal of the covenant of grace (Col 2:11-13).

The Spirit makes baptism effective as a means of grace, as evidenced at Pentecost (Acts 2:33, 38-39).

In Acts, the Spirit was grafting new Gentile branches into the tree of Israel, calling primarily for adult baptisms. But the pattern of giving covenant children the sign of the covenant had not changed. Where is THAT in Scripture? If the credo-baptist points to the circumcision of the heart, then why baptize at all, since it is the heart that matters?

The Second Helvetic Confession

The Second Helvetic Confession (1562) was second because its author, Heinrich Bullinger, leading Swiss reformer after Ulrich Zwingli died, had written another one 25 years earlier. It is Helvetic because that is the Latin word for "Swiss." And it was written at the request of Elector Frederick in Germany, who was in hot water once the Heidelberg Catechism, which he had commissioned, was published there. Lutherans thought it too Reformed, not Lutheran enough, and a heresy trial of Frederick was set. Frederick enlisted Bullinger to write a confession in his defense, and the Second Helvetic resulted. Frederick was exonerated, so it must have succeeded in bridging some Lutheran and Reformed divisions.