Poured Out

I am the dirt  

God formed Man out of dirt from the ground  

out of the craving dust 

Jesus the seed sown  

The seed is the Word of God 

He is the water poured out  

on thirsty ground 

I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint 

He is the drink offering of wine

and the blood poured out on 

the base of the altar 

His blood dripping down on 

the base of the cross 

sinking down  

Let this earth open its mouth 

to receive it 

pour it out on the ground like water 

let this dirt drink it 

This is my blood 

Drink from it, all of you 

I am the dirt  

full of rocks and  

old bitter roots  

and ancient debris 

break up your unplowed ground 

I am but craving dust 

Yet  (grace upon grace)

here He answers my longing 

Open your mouth and I will fill it 

here the seed is sown 

I open my mouth and pant, longing for your commands 

here Life poured out on

dry craving dust 

springs up 

The priest shall then put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of fragrant incense that is before the LORD in the Tent of Meeting. The rest of the bull’s blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. Leviticus 4:7 

I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted within me. Psalm 22:14 

But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. John 19:34 

For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants. Isaiah 44:3 

… whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life. John 4:14

Photo, detail of Waterfall by Derek Bair

Unplowed Ground

In Matthew 13:1-9 Jesus tells the Parable of the Sower.¹ The parable recounts a farmer sowing seed in different soil conditions, hard, rocky, and full of weeds. Of course, the seed does not do well until it lands on “good soil, where it produced a crop.” Jesus ends the story with these words, “He who has ears, let him hear.” He reveals later that the seed is the “message about the kingdom,” or “the word of God” (Luke 8:11). 

I always thought of these four types of soils as four types of people, and of course, I was a good-soil person who could look down on (maybe even subconsciously) the other struggling types. But recently when I read this parable I thought, what if all of us are all the types? What if the parable reveals our journey toward God? 

Jesus says that having ears that hear is key to understanding the parable. The hard, rocky, overgrown soils are not ready to receive the Word of God. J.D. Walt has said that hearing and responding to the word of God is the ultimate worship – hearing the seed of the Word, letting it sink down roots into our hearts, the seed sprouting and springing up, bringing life-giving fruit. 

Break up your unplowed ground and do not sow among thorns. Jeremiah 4:3 

Sow righteousness for yourselves, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the LORD, until he comes and showers his righteousness on you. Hosea 10:12 

But Jesus said that the hearts of the people had “become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes.” Psalm 17 and Proverbs 21 reveal the cause of calloused hearts. 

They (the wicked, the enemies) close up their callous hearts, and their mouths speak with arrogance. Psalm 17:10 

Haughty eyes and a proud heart— the unplowed field of the wicked—produce sin. Proverbs 21:4  

Arrogance and pride – the unplowed field – cannot receive the seed of the Word of God. The people of these fields are self-sufficient; they are alone and barren. And God judges them as wicked – guilty criminals deserving of punishment, rebellious, hostile enemies of God. None of us likes to think of ourselves that way, but that is where we all start on this walk. With amazing grace, we are received that way. We are met where we are and given the faith we need to receive and believe the life-changing word-seed. 

And Jesus, lavishly and lovingly, throws seed on our hard ground. We are urged to respond to it, plowing up our fields, breaking up the hard clods, removing (or allowing God to remove) the rocks, and pulling out the weeds. That is the process of sanctification. 

… continue to work out your salvation [that is, cultivate it, bring it to full effect, actively pursue spiritual maturity] with awe-inspired fear and trembling … Philippians 2:12 (Amplified Bible) 

But sometimes we sit down by the side of the path and remain unplowed for long periods of time. Fearful, prideful, angry at God. God is infinitely patient, waiting for us to get back up and again get behind the plow. Maybe not so patient, or patient but pained, because he is passionate about the end-goal. 

For the goal is intimacy with God, unity. Good soil receiving life-containing seed is a picture of more than farming. It is also a picture of the intimate “knowing” of the marriage between the Bride and the Bridegroom. The two will become one.  

“The daring metaphor of Jesus as bridegroom suggests that the living God seeks more than an intimate relationship with us. The reckless, raging fury of Yahweh culminates, dare we say it, in a symbiotic fusion, a union so substantive that the apostle Paul would write: It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. (Gal. 2:20 NASB)” — Brennan Manning, The Furious Longing of God

This is what really blew my mind while reading this parable today. Jesus is the ultimate perfectly plowed field. He never had any hard ground or rocks or weeds. He responded immediately and without any doubt or resistance or self-anything to what his Father said to him. 

The Sovereign LORD has opened my ears; I have not been rebellious, I have not turned away. Isaiah 50:5 

For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak. John 12:49 (ESV) 

… I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. John 14:31 (ESV) 

And isn’t the goal of our plowing to become like Jesus? To be mixed in with his dirt? To be hidden in him? To be in union with Him? To become one fruitful field? To not be lonely, barren fields any longer? 

Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. Colossians 3:2-3 

I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. John 17:20-21 

Lord, help me to cooperate with you in breaking up my unplowed ground. Give me grace to surrender the rocks of arrogance and pride, doubt and fear and resistance into your loving hands. Open my ears to hear your life-giving Word. Let me be like you. Let my life be hidden in you. 

¹Also, Mark 4: 3-9 and Luke 8:5-8. 

Photo, fallow, by Robb North https://flic.kr/p/6dWcZL

Striking Root

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly (copiously, abundantly, much in quantity), teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Colossians 3:16 (ESV) 

The Greek word translated “dwell” in the above verse is enoikeó (ἐνοικέω). The word is only used five times in the New Testament. Three of those verses underscore that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit dwells in me.  

… God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” 2 Corinthians 6:16 

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly … Colossians 3:16 

If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. Romans 8:11 (ESV) 

According to HELPS Word-studies enoikeó means to dwell at home, in one’s personal residence. Thayer’s Greek Lexicon adds that it means to dwell in one and influence him for good. That is an amazing thing. The word of Christ, which is Christ himself, dwelling in me as his personal residence, at home here in me, influencing me for good.  

But what really captured my attention was what Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers said about this verse:  

“The word of Christ … It is to ‘dwell in their hearts.’ Hence it is the ‘engrafted word’ (James 1:21)–the truth of Christ conceived in the heart, striking root into it, and making it its dwelling-place.” 

I love that picture – the Word of Christ striking root into my heart! It reminds me of the parable Jesus told about the farmer sowing seed on different types of ground. He told of seed that “fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly because the soil was shallow. But when the sun rose, the seedlings were scorched, and they withered because they had no root” (Matthew 13:6). Later Jesus explained it this way: 

The seed sown on rocky ground is the one who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he remains for only a season. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away. Matthew 13:20-21 

Trouble in this life is ubiquitous and persecution will come if we continue on, walking in his footsteps. Trouble tends to do one of two things – harden us, or plow up the stony ground of our hearts. In other words, we can either turn a deaf ear, turn our backs to the Word of God revealed and confronting us (especially hard words we don’t want to hear), or respond and receive the Word.   

Roots cannot sink deep into stony ground. The plowing is part of the process of sanctification. Little by little, God puts his finger on things that need to change in us, and little by little we surrender. J.D. Walt calls this response to the revealed Word “true worship: You have revealed yourself to me and I have responded.” ¹ 

Let’s allow the Word made flesh to influence for good. He dwells within us and walks along with us. Let’s invite him to be at home in our hearts. Let’s allow his Word to strike root there, sinking deep. Let’s actively pursue this by proclaiming the Word, by owning it for our lives. 

“Speak [God’s Word], pray it, or sing it, repeat it several times. Let it sink into your soul and lift you; the angels will rejoice with you, and your Father God hears your every word. He will provide for and guide you by your faithfulness.” — Alan Kearns https://devotionaltreasure.wordpress.com/2022/08/08/a-proclamation/  

Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 
James 1:21-22 

¹J.D. Walt https://seedbed.com/and-then-this-happens/  

Photo, Roots by Broderick https://flic.kr/p/8dTTt  

The Play’s the Thing

The messenger who had gone to summon Micaiah said to him, “Look, the other prophets without exception are predicting success for the king. Let your word agree with theirs, and speak favorably.” But Micaiah said, “As surely as the LORD lives, I can tell him only what my God says.” 2 Chronicles 18:12-13 

Micaiah had been summoned to give the word of the Lord to two kings – Ahab, who was very wicked, and Jehoshaphat, who “did what was right in the eyes of the LORD.” They were trying to decide if they should go into battle. 400 of Ahab’s prophets were declaring he would be victorious. But Jehoshaphat was not so sure.  

But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there no longer a prophet of the LORD here whom we can inquire of?” The king of Israel answered Jehoshaphat, “There is still one prophet through whom we can inquire of the LORD, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good about me, but always bad. He is Micaiah son of Imlah.” “The king should not say such a thing,” Jehoshaphat replied. 2 Chronicles 18:6-7 

This peevish complaint would be funny if it wasn’t so sad. It reminds me of 2 Timothy 4: 3 

For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 

So, Micaiah was called and was pressed by the messenger to stick with the script and agree with the other prophets that the kings would be victorious. As Micaiah steps on the stage of this bizarre play scripted to please the wicked King Ahab, the kings are in costume, “dressed in royal attire,” and one of the prophets is acting out the goring of the enemy with a costume of iron horns on his head. And all 400 prophets are repeating their lines correctly: “Attack Ramoth Gilead and be victorious,” they said, “for the LORD will give it into the king’s hand.” This whole drama always makes me think of Hamlet’s famous line, “the play’s the thing wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the King.” (Act 2, Scene 2) 

God is not averse to using some street theater to get his message across. I have always been intrigued by how much theater there is in the Bible. God directed Ezekiel to act out packing up his belongings for exile and digging a hole in the city wall (Ezekiel 12:4-6). God also told Ezekiel to act out a siege of Jerusalem, laying down on the ground and bearing their sin for 390 days (Ezekiel 4)! God directed Jeremiah to smash a jar before the people to act out the shattering of the nation (Jeremiah 19:10). God also had Isaiah walk around naked and barefoot for three years (yikes!) as “a sign and portent against Egypt and Cush” (Isaiah 20:2-4). 

But in all these cases it was God who wrote the script and gave the direction. When I was taking acting class in high school our teacher used the quote, “the play’s the thing” (i.e., Shakespeare’s written words were the thing) to emphasize that we could NOT improvise with Shakespeare. We had to know and say the words exactly accurately. Everybody knows Shakespeare wrote it and many know it by heart and would catch any deviation from the original words. “As surely as the LORD lives, I can tell him only what my God says.”  

“The Word of God is our Script. That’s why we call it Script-ure. We are not just memorizing lines. We are learning a character (Jesus). We are immersing ourselves in a plot and narrative. We are becoming players in the story. When we get our eye off of that ball, we so easily slip into a comedy of errors.” — J.D. Walt ⁱ 

And it turns out that Jehoshaphat did not stick with Ahab’s script after all and it saved his life. As they went into battle Ahab changed out of his kingly costume, hedging his bets that maybe Micaiah was right, but still directing his own play, still writing his own script. He told Jehoshaphat to keep his kingly costume on though. Jehoshaphat may have been feeling uneasy about this time, and with good reason. 

Now the king of Aram had ordered his chariot commanders, “Do not fight with anyone, small or great, except the king of Israel.” When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they thought, “This is the king of Israel.” So they turned to attack him, but Jehoshaphat cried out, and the LORD helped him. God drew them away from him, for when the chariot commanders saw that he was not the king of Israel, they stopped pursuing him. 2 Chronicles 18:31-32  

I always think that maybe the attackers realized that this guy in the king costume wasn’t the king that they were after, because the king that they were after would never have cried out to the Lord – at least not the capital “L” Lord, not to the Lord of Lords and King of Kings. Crying out to the Lord God Yahweh was not in Ahab’s script. And if you read the whole story, you know that, even though Ahab changed his costume and had 400 actors shouting his script, he was still killed in the battle, just as Micaiah prophesied.  

Jehoshaphat made a mistake that day aligning himself with a wicked king, but he learned something. Because this is the same Jehoshaphat who later when a great army came against him, cried out to his God, “Our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” And God answered him, “Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s.” ⁱⁱ And, there was a great rout of the enemy. 

The battle is not ours. The script is not ours. It belongs to God. Let us cry out to the true Lord. Let us fix our eyes on Him. He is the one with the power to overcome impossible odds. He sustains “all things by his powerful word” (Hebrews 1: 3). He is our glorious God, the Author of the Script, the Word. The Word made flesh, Jesus, who came to show us God’s character that we might learn it. 

Obeying God is hard. The narrow way is narrow. God’s word cuts to the heart of our self-deception, self-preservation and promotion, our efforts to be in control. Let’s decide right now not try to write our own script. Let’s let God be the director of our life story. Let’s stick with God’s script. Let’s memorize it. Let’s learn our character, immersing ourselves in Jesus, clothing ourselves in His kingly garments. 

… clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ … Romans 13:14 

… fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:2 (NASB) 

ⁱ J.D. Walt, The Word of God and the Comedy of Errors  https://www.seedbed.com/the-word-of-god-and-the-comedy-of-errors/ 

ⁱⁱ2 Chronicles 20:13-15 

Image, Hamlet by Kevin Houle https://flic.kr/p/8U8hv  

It’s Absolutely Not Possible

I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it. Luke 18:17 

When reading this verse, I usually concentrate on the “little child” part. But this time the word “never” jumped out at me. It’s actually two Greek words – οὐ μή – that are translated “never” in the above verse. Let me just say up front that studying these words has greatly encouraged my faith and I hope it does the same for you. 

According to NetBible Translator’s Notes, “The negation in Greek used here (οὐ μή, ou mh) is very strong.” Strong’s Concordance, notes that it is “a double negative strengthening the denial.” The meanings include: not at all, by no means, neither, never, in no case, nor ever, not in any wise. 

So, it’s really important to pay attention when Jesus uses this word. He is saying in the above verse that it is vital that we come to God with the faith of a child. (And note that it is matter of our will – “anyone who will not receive.”)

Thayer’s Greek Lexicon adds that “οὐ denies the thing itself (or to speak technically, denies simply, absolutely, categorically, directly, objectively), but μή denies the thought of the thing, or the thing according to the judgment, opinion, will, purpose, preference, of someone.” 

Denying the thought of the thing is like saying “God forbid,” or “don’t even think about it!” Like Peter exclaiming after Jesus predicted his death at the hands of the chief priests:  

“Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never ( οὐ μή ) happen to you!” Matthew 16:22 

This is also translated “God forbid!” “Heaven forbid!” “Impossible, Master!”  

These are negative examples, but there are many, many promises using this word combination. From God’s point of view, it is like he is declaring, “Not on my watch!” Jesus uses this emphatic “double negative strengthening the denial” many times, categorically and absolutely declaring the impossibility of something happening.

It is helpful for me to think of it as “It’s not happening!” (I was going to say “It ain’t happenin’!” but my librarian/English major self won’t let me.) Or I could say, “It is absolutely not possible – not ever.” I want to make sure I realize the implications – to shake myself out of my – what is it? – sleepiness, complacency, apathy? I don’t want to just let my eyes and mind slip by these promises, but grab unto them with both hands and all my heart and soul. 

Below is a list of some of the promises using this double, emphatic negative.* It is mind jogging to me, and so comforting and encouraging to read them with “It’s not happening. It is absolutely not possible – not ever!” preceding the promise. (You can precede these verses in any way that speaks to you): 

It’s not happening. It is absolutely not possible – not ever!

I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Matthew 5:18 

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. Matthew 24:35 

Anyone who drinks the water I give will never thirst–not ever. The water I give will be an artesian spring within, gushing fountains of endless life. John 4:14 (Message) 

Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Luke 6:37 

All men will hate you because of me. But not a hair of your head will perish. Luke 21:17-18 

Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.” John 6:35 

All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away (never cast them out, never reject them). 

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12 

I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. John 10:28 

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” John 11:25-26 

And then these wonderful promises: 

So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. Galatians 5:16 

And I will forgive their wrongdoings, and I will never again remember their sins. Hebrews 8:12 (NLT) 

Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more. Hebrews 10:17 

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

For in Scripture it says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” 1 Peter 2:6 

He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death. Revelation 2:11 

All who are victorious will be clothed in white. I will never erase their names from the Book of Life, but I will announce before my Father and his angels that they are mine. Revelation 3:5 (NLT) 

Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. Revelation 3:12 

That last one! How amazing! We will be in His Presence and never again, not at all, by no means, never ever, in no case, not ever, not in any wise will we leave His glorious Presence ever again. Praise God! It ain’t happenin’! 

*A further discussion and complete list of verses using οὐ μή and be found here https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?t=kjv&strongs=g3364 

Image copyright by Derek Bair

I Testify

The one who existed from the beginning is the one we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is Jesus Christ, the Word of life. 1 John 1:1 (NLT)

This is what eyewitnesses do. They testify about what they have seen and heard and experienced, with their own eyes and ears and hands

I have been called to be a witness, and I, too, testify that

I have heard His voice calling my name. I have heard Him say to me, “You are mine!”

I have looked, while in the spirit, into His eyes like unending pools of molten love, like perfectly pure liquid gold, purer than anything here on this earth

I have felt His Presence, very near, right beside me, instant in need, comforting, cheering me on, relentlessly offering me this Hope, pointing out the Way

I have experienced His unstoppable power and authority, taking my breath away, healing, redeeming, restoring, bursting bonds, kicking down doors, bringing me out into that spacious place

I have experienced this power in me, in my heart, in my mouth and in my hands, working through me sharing this love, this healing, this redemption, this new-creature, new-way-of being, new Life

I have known the power of His Truth repairing the twisted, mangled parts, the mind-blowing revelation of His Word, changing my thinking, switching the track, crumbling unscalable walls, blowing away the chaff

I testify, with my own ears, with my own eyes, in my own life, with my own hands

He is Jesus Christ, the Word of Life

 

Image in the Public Domain, by Brad Shorr

The Craftsman

Then I looked up, and there before me were four horns. I asked the angel who was speaking to me, “What are these?”
He answered me, “These are the horns that scattered Judah, Israel and Jerusalem.”
Then the Lord showed me four craftsmen. I asked, “What are these coming to do?”
He answered, “These are the horns that scattered Judah so that no one could raise their head, but the craftsmen have come to terrify them and throw down these horns of the nations who lifted up their horns against the land of Judah to scatter its people.” Zechariah 1:18-21 (NIV)

In this amazing vision, that was given to Zechariah, God meets and overcomes brute force and destruction with craftsmen, with artisans! With craftsmen who will restore, redeem, remake like new. And this act of mercy and unfailing love – this checed – terrifies the enemy who can only mar and destroy and scatter.

Isn’t this just like God, to overcome destruction and chaos and hatred, with creativity, redemption, and love? He is the ultimate artisan, the Creator. Jesus was the Craftsman at his side during the creation.[i]

I was there when he set the heavens in place, when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep … I was the craftsman at his side. I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in his presence, rejoicing in his whole world and delighting in mankind. Proverbs 8:27, 30-31 (NIV)

He continually is creating and crafting – the entire Universe, but also you and me. I am, we are, his poiema, his poem if we surrender to his expert hands. Ephesians 2:10 (NIV) says that “we are God’s workmanship” or “we are God’s masterpiece” (NLT). Though it may seem like chaos reigns, he is always working, always re-creating, always redeeming – and our enemy is terrified.

The word translated craftsmen encompasses many types of creativity and craft: craftsman, carpenter (it is very cool that Jesus was a carpenter-craftsman here on Earth), artisan, engraver, artificer, stonemason, blacksmith. The craftsmen in the Bible were always doing one of three things: creating and adorning God’s Temple, fashioning idols and adorning their temples, or they were hammering out weapons for warfare.

Made in the image of God, we are craftsmen too. We were made to be always adorning a temple – either the temple of God as we adorn our hearts (working out our salvation) with holiness, righteousness, faithfulness, humility – or the temples of our idols, perhaps with greed, covetousness, bitterness, jealousy, resentment, unforgiveness, pride.

We, as craftsmen, are also given the trust and authority to hammer out weapons of warfare – and to wield them – in this fight against evil, chaos, destruction of all that is good and right, the fight against the hatred of all whom God loves. These weapons of our warfare are many and mighty. Mostly they are not intuitive to our flesh. They include praise and thanksgiving in the face of impossible odds (2 Chronicles 20:15-25). Ephesians lists more of the weapons and armor that we use against the enemy.

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God … Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Ephesians 6:12-16 (NIV)

Isn’t it amazing that the weapons of our warfare are truth, righteousness, faith, and the Good News of Jesus death and resurrection, his love, forgiveness, and redemption? Isn’t it wonderful that with these we disarm the rulers of this world?

For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 2 Corinthians 10:3-4 (NIV)

He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. Colossians 2:13b-15 (NIV)

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome (subdue, conquer, prevail, be victorious over), evil with good. Romans 12:21 (NIV)

Let us, as “little craftsmen,” adorn our hearts as temples of the Lord. Let us forge the weapons of our warfare, working alongside The Craftsman. Let us overcome the brute force and destruction, hatred and chaos of this world, with the Word of God, with truth, mercy, praise, thanksgiving, and unfailing love.

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I [Jesus] came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. John 10:10 (NASB)

 

[i] See 1 Corinthians 1:30

Amen!

“These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation.” Revelation 3:14 (NIV) 

In Revelation 3:14 the Lord Jesus calls Himself “the Amen.”  That really struck me, so I looked up the definition of the word. It means firm and faithful. Jesus, the firm foundation. Jesus, faithful and true. At the beginning of a discourse it means “surely, truly, or verily,” so that when Jesus is translated, so many times, as saying, “verily, verily I say to you” he was really saying “amen, amen” – or “you can trust what I am going to say, you can stand on this Rock.” At the end of a discourse or sermon it means “so it is, so be it, or may it be fulfilled.”

According to the Thayer Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, saying amen “was a custom, which passed over from the synagogues to the Christian assemblies, that when he who had read or discoursed, had offered up solemn prayer to God, the others responded Amen, and thus made the substance of what was uttered their own.” Yes, I believe it. Yes, I am putting my trust in this.

But I also found out something about the origins of the word. According to NetBible, “The word ‘amen’ is a most remarkable word. It was transliterated directly from the Hebrew into the Greek of the New Testament, then into Latin and into English and many other languages, so that it is practically a universal word. It has been called the best known word in human speech. The word is directly related — in fact, almost identical — to the Hebrew word for “believe” (amam), or faithful. Thus, it came to mean “sure” or “truly,” an expression of absolute trust and confidence.”

So it is very comforting to me that the Bible ends with the word “Amen.” This is something that can be trusted. This is true. “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ. And so through him the ‘Amen’ is spoken by us to the glory of God.” (2 Corinthians 1:20 NIV)

Amen! So be it! I’m standing on this Rock!

 

Image in the Public Domain: Woman standing on a rock near Villa de Leyva, Colombia by Joshua Earle https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Woman_standing_on_a_rock_near_Villa_de_Leyva,_Colombia_(Unsplash).jpg

 

The Speed of Light

The light shines

(continually shines, is shining, shines on)

in the darkness, but the darkness

has not understood

(perceived,

conquered,

overcome,

seized,

grasped,

apprehended,

overtaken,

can never

extinguish) it.

John 1:5

 

 

Image By Zouavman Le Zouave – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3302900

Mercy Seat

Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place, which had the golden altar of incense and the gold-covered ark of the covenant. This ark contained the gold jar of manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant. Above the ark were the cherubim of the Glory, overshadowing the atonement cover (Mercy Seat). Hebrews 9:3-5 (NIV)

In the heart of the Israelite’s Tent of Meeting, behind a veil in the room called the Holy of Holies, or Most Holy Place, was a box covered with sheets of beaten gold which was called the Ark of the Covenant. Its lid, the Mercy Seat, was solid gold and depicted two angels in an attitude of worship. Inside the ark were three things:

1) a jar of manna, the “bread of heaven” or bread of angels which was given to the Israelites to eat in the desert

2) a dead wooden staff made from a branch of an almond tree which had come alive and produced flowers and almonds

3) the ten commandments written on stone tablets

I recently realized that all those things in the Ark were put there in a direct response to rebellion. The manna was given to the Israelites in response to their grumbling about having nothing to eat (Exodus 16: 3-4). God commanded Moses to put some in the ark as a reminder of His provision (Exodus 16:32).

Korah and company rebelled against Moses and Aaron as God’s chosen authority – “What right do you have to act as though you are greater than anyone else among all these people of the LORD?” they asked. Kind of like, “who made you the boss of me?” (Numbers 16:3). Aaron’s rod budded and produced fruit in direct response to the rebellion to confirm God’s choice, and God commanded Moses to include it in the ark as a sign (Numbers 17:1-10).

The stone tablets containing the ten commandments were the most important response, a life-preserver thrown out to all of us people flailing about trying to be our own god. His word is an anchor dropped into the world’s chaotic sea of sin and rebellion – an anchor that holds within the veil (Hebrews 6:19-20).

The ark was full of responses to doubt and fear and rebellion, but God covered it all over with His mercy and told Moses He would meet with him there.

“You shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the testimony which I will give to you. There I will meet with you; and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, I will speak to you about all that I will give you in commandment for the sons of Israel. Exodus 25:21-22 (NASB)

The Mercy Seat is where the blood of the sacrifice was sprinkled as an atonement for sin of the people by the High Priest once a year. This foreshadowed the death of Jesus, the Lamb of God, the final sacrifice for the sin of the world. It also foreshadowed Jesus as High Priest offering his own blood one final time in the heavenly Temple (Hebrews 9:11-28).

I also have been realizing that all those things in the ark represented Jesus, the Savior who was to come. He is the manna, the Bread of Life (John 6:48-51). He is the chosen High Priest (Hebrews 4:14), the Branch (Isaiah 11:1) that was dead and came back to fruitful life. He is the Word of God made flesh (John 1:14). God knew from the beginning how things would go and had a plan for our redemption. God’s response to the sin and rebellion of the world was Mercy. His response was Jesus.

… and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. Romans 3:24-26 (NIV)

The word translated “sacrifice of atonement” in the above verse means, in the Greek, both the atoning victim and the Mercy Seat itself. Jesus is our Mercy Seat. But, Jesus isn’t storing up all our sins – or even the reminders of our sin – in a box and covering them over with his blood. At the cross Jesus vanquished sin, he destroyed it, he wiped it out forever – we can be made just as if we had never done anything wrong. Yet we are still crabbing about what we want but don’t have to satisfy our cravings, arguing about who is the boss, who gets to make the rules. We have been doubters, grumblers, rebels from the beginning, but God is still waiting to meet us there, at the Mercy Seat. Come and meet him there.

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:14-16 (NASB)

If you would like, you can learn more about the Mercy Seat here https://www.bible-history.com/tabernacle/TAB4The_Mercy_Seat.htm

 

Photo replica of the Ark of the Covenant in the Royal Arch Room of the George Washington Masonic National Memorial. Photo by Ben Schumin on December 27, 2006