The Bullet of Scripture: Story Telling, Old and NewLet’s travel back in our imagination a couple of thousand years. You are one of the followers of Messiah Jesus. It is a clear evening. The sun has just set and you and your friends make yourselves comfortable around a brightly flickering camp fire. It’s been a long day. You’ve had a good meal. Everyone is ready to relax for awhile before going to sleep. You are enjoying a well deserved rest after a fatiguing day of walking, healing, ministering and listening to the Word of God spoken by the Master. Everyone quiets as the Savior begins to tell a story. This is a good one even though He has told it before: “There was a man who was a beggar. His name was Lazarus …”
This “Man,” Jesus, Who tells Lazarus’ story (Luke 16:19-31) never wrote a book. In fact, this well-loved account was not written down until after His death. It was at that time transferred from memory to “paper.” There were options even then. Writing could be done on parchment with a bamboo “fountain pen” invented by the Romans. Another common way of writing was to use wooden tablets covered in wax. Writing was created by incising the wax with a stylus. This was a pencil-sized instrument of iron (as noted in ancient Roman texts on writing) or bone or wood or other hard materials that could leave an impression in the wax. A stylus could even have an “eraser” end to smooth away errors or unwanted text.
The years passed. The text was copied over and over again by different hands using a variety of papers and writing instruments. From somewhere around 700 A.D. onward, the quill pen was commonly used to make these handwritten books. By the year 1424, the library of the great university of Cambridge, England, had a total of 122 parchment books, each worth the price of a farm or vineyard!
Then there was a revolution; spurred by the increasing demand for reasonably priced books by a growing, educated middle class. This new technology of the printing press was as earthshaking as the gift of writing itself. At the forefront of this technological revolution was a German goldsmith by the name of Johannes Gutenberg. He is credited with inventing the first European printing press with moveable type in the year 1440. His first substantive project … the famous Gutenberg Bible … included the story of the beggar Lazarus!
Just over a half-a-millennium later a new revolution is changing the way people interact with this ancient story. In preparing this article, we searched for and then read the text of Luke off a computer screen. The experience of receiving the story of Lazarus and his rich neighbor has changed. There are several fascinating implications in this change but, above and beyond all other considerations, is the fact that after some 2,000 years his bit of history is still being told. The stunning revelation of this story is not so much in its content. It is the fact that when God in flesh walked the earth He took the time to select this particular story and tell it instead of thousands of other options! That the Messiah Himself should use such an illustration of poverty, hopelessness, sores and dogs is as astonishing and remarkable as the story itself! What a wonder is the Mind of God!
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There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores…”
Luke 16: 19-21 The point of this great piece of biography is that no matter how bad things are for you on earth they are temporary. They cannot keep you from spending eternity in the Presence of God. Quit complaining. Have no pity parties. The depth of your poverty and suffering could be the very instruments that opened up your eternity to the Lord of Life. Read the Scriptures … this one from Luke and the hundreds of other verses where the Lord has spoken clearly! Put your hope in God’s Voice, not miracles, not circumstances, not the temporary. Lazarus listened, evidently sought to obey, even in his poverty, and waited! For 2,000 years now millions have heard his story. It is the story of a nobody who became somebody because Jesus called his name! Our Lord is saying this is the destiny of all who will listen and think the way Lazarus did!
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The Father said that if people won’t listen to Moses and the Prophets (the Scripture), they won’t listen to someone even if he comes back from the dead!” … “When Lazarus died the angels took him into the Presence …”
Luke 16:22, 31
The 4th of July: Freedom, Independence and Interdependence for All“It is no small thing to build a new world, Gentlemen.” These are Benjamin Franklin’s words in
John Adams, the powerful historical mini-series chronicling the birth and infancy of our nation. Truly
it was no small thing when the members of the Continental Congress approved the
Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. Knowing they were about to embark on an adventure that would
cost them dearly, they concluded the document with these words, “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”
The new world these men pledged to build would be birthed in “blood, sweat and tears.” With agony, frustration, doubt, bickering, disagreement, anger, fear, worry, pain, betrayal, courage, bravery and sheer determination the leaders of our nation set about giving form to “their ideal government” of free men. The liberated and independent country they envisioned had never before been known on earth! To their advantage, the American Colonies were well endowed with rich farms and prosperous communities, even cities; in comparison with much of the rest of the world, including England, Americans were becoming rich. On the other hand, they were facing the supreme military power in the world at that time, Great Britain. In defiance of the odds, this militarily insignificant group of colonies demanded more than just equality under British law … they demanded Independence! That July day they had no army, no navy, no government, no allies, no unanimous loyalty, no proven national leaders, no facilities, no financial reserves, etc. … yet they took on the most powerful nation in the world … and won! Even more amazing, a large portion of the American population didn’t want it to happen. Thousands declared themselves to be loyalists to the British government, or Tories, and actually fought with the English against the vision of the Founders!
Being men of reality and understanding, they realized that this dream could only come about if they covenanted together, fought and died together, sacrificed together and overcame their differences together. As much as they wanted independence from England they needed interdependence among themselves to achieve it. Their wonderful blend of freedom and dependence is magnificently stated in the
Declaration of Independence and our American
Constitution. The roots of these revolutionary documents are a balance of secular “enlightenment” thought and the truth realities expressed in the Judeo-Christian tradition.
Our Lord Himself tells us that He came to make mankind free, free to be part of the Father’s family and to break free from the world’s tyranny of idols and illusions: “
Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:35-36). The same thought is echoed in the words of the Apostle Paul: “
There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). Let me confidently state that the United States would never have come into being had our Founding Fathers sought to have built it on the Koran rather than the Scriptures of Moses and Jesus!
Just as the colonists set about building a nation of free men, the Lord Jesus preceded them by coming to earth to build a worldwide family of free human beings. Their gender, color, employment, heritage, nationality or any other distinction created by human thinking or natural consequences was a secondary consideration! Think about another “Declaration” of our Lord’s purpose in the story of another seeker after Truth. This man, named Nicodemus, was a religious leader yet still did not comprehend the relationship of the natural and the supernatural!
One thing you can be sure of, controversy always sprang up easily when Jesus spoke out against the legalistic leaders of the Jews. But not all those leaders were indifferent to His words. One man who was eager to know more was Nicodemus, a Pharisee, a member of the ruling Jewish council. He came under the cover of night to the Master to ask the questions that had pricked his mind for a long time. He understood that the miracles Jesus performed could only be done by a Man of God. Yet he was confused and unsure of the message and the Man Who delivered it. This was not the teaching of the established experts. Jesus spoke, not with “degreed learning” but with “convicting authority.” He made statements, like “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” Nicodemus’ mind refused to step outside the box and see the point the Teacher was making. At the end of the interview Jesus gave him, and us, His own “Declaration of Independence”:
“I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man. Just as Moses lifted up the bronze snake in the wilderness, (for the people to look and be healed) so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not waste away to nothing but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the Name of God's one and only Son. This is the final verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God." John 3:12-21
These words and their full meaning are too exalted and deep for our tiny minds and hearts. Yet we do comprehend enough of their truth to be compelled to seek the hope of greater things. We too, like our Founding Fathers, can see the great beginning and hope of a still unrealized America … and we too “still press on!” The Founders of our country had this great “Declaration of True Freedom” to undergird their understanding and commitment as they crafted a new nation that would “… establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity …” (preamble of
The Constitution of the United States).
We are exceedingly blessed to live in the United States, the country that came out of the
Declaration of Independence presented to its citizens that July of 1776. We enjoy and prosper from the benefits of our heritage of freedom as Americans. As we celebrate the birth of our nation this coming weekend, our major emotions should be reflection and gratitude. Let us recall again the words of The Signers and join afresh in their resolve! “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”
No nation on earth has ever brought more peace, prosperity, liberty and opportunity to its people than the United States of America. Our system of government, freedom, power and benefits is the most successful in history for the maximum number of its citizens. Truly, our Founding Fathers and our Founding Generation have been
our greatest friends in giving us our way of life. If our hearts are noble, the choices before us are clear. We, too, must mutually pledge anew in our current crisis our reliance on God. We, too, must mutually pledge to others our fortunes, our honor and, if necessary, our lives!
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greater love has no one than this; that he lay down his life for his friends!”
The Lord Christ in John 15:13
The Bullet of New Life in Christ: Our Great Testimony
We should welcome all of our little “death circumstances.” “We who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake” (II Cor. 4:11). The Father wants us aware enough of death (despairs) so we will wake up to our life (delights) in Jesus. See every job loss, broken relationship, family crisis, personal rejection, depressed moment, wasted opportunity, sick regret, financial fear, hopeless expectation, honest emptiness, political agony, health concern, enduring sadness, tough time and, yes, even your secret besetting sin(s), etc. as a revealed death for Jesus’ sake. Learning to “put” each of these existential events, wounds, frustrations, disappointments and thoughts “in Christ” turns them eventually into “doors of deliverance.” All other doors are dead ends.
It is in honestly seeing the utter tragic reality of DEATH, but then handling its cruel hopelessness the way Jesus handled it, that you “feed yourself” with the triumphant hope of the Savior’s kind of LIFE! Blessed are those who “work out” this kind of transition from all of their inevitable “death situations.” To do so is to learn the sweet meaning of our whole and complete salvation! (Phil. 2:12). None of us will ever grasp salvation’s fullness, but we are increasingly assured that there is a fullness there to be grasped.
Remember, it is the Lord Who “puts” us on the death path so that, for Jesus’ sake, we can discover the life path (II Cor. 2:11). Death to my lower, pygmy agenda enables me to live for the Savior’s higher, giant agenda for my life.
It is for our good and deliverance that we taste death just as Jesus did on the cross. Read Isaiah 53 with this thought in mind! Being human without the Presence of God is death. All who truly experience this death reality, so evident in this world, hunger to find or create a path to life. The Lord Christ has shown us that path. He walked through death to the cross on His way to life … resurrection. This is our path as well. If we pursue walking “in His steps” we will find it.
“ONLY GREAT TESTING ENABLES ONE TO GIVE A GREAT TESTIMONY.” And the Lord Jesus said, “
I Am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I Am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of absolute control over death and the powers of Hell” (Rev. 1:18).
To learn the details of our
dying for Jesus sake is to find our life in Christ
for our own sake! This is “the hidden life” that in Him will keep on increasing and that will last forever!
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For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, Who is our life, makes Himself real at His coming, then the significance of all He has done for you will also be made real for all to see!”
Colossians 3:3-4
The Bullet of New Life in Christ: LIFE in His Presence“I am always being delivered from everything” are some of Paul’s greatest words! (II Cor. 2:14). They describe how the Christ Life is possessed, experienced and expressed by the Cross Disciple who keeps on seeking, asking, knocking, thinking, praying, studying and finding his or her death to “the self life.” It is a tragedy to live the kind of life that is void of the presence, power, promises and pleasures of the Godhead! Only when the old self life is continually put to death in our thinking does our new Christ Life self increasingly come alive in our awareness. My “self” does not cease to exist but becomes its “true self” as I “put” or place “myself” into the purposes and aspirations of the high ambitions the Father has for me in Christ Jesus! (II Cor. 2:14-17). Paul goes on to describe some of these specifics in II Corinthians four:
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But we have this treasure (our possession of Christ Life potential) in jars of clay (our sinful earth bodies) to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; knocked down, but never knocked out. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.”
II Corinthians 4:7-12This fallen world, dominated by its illusions, delusions and confusions, is destined for diminishment, death and destruction. Cross Disciples must be vigilant to see the truth of this hopelessness in an authentic and vigorous way! This means we must learn to accept this crippled, blind and helpless culture just as the Father says it is! We must all taste in different degrees the desperate despair and the deadening habits of spiritual emptiness. This comes on us, of course, from pursuing life without the Presence of God. We must learn to “carry the weight” of this struggle with us throughout our daily pressures. Our hope for deliverance is to take up (add) more cross … not less! Only then are we increasingly freed from our bondage to dullness and insignificance by the “praise realities” of Jesus, Who we sense more fully is vitally alive within us. This is what it means to be “in Christ” … to experience that He really is the Truth about everything! Our hearts are then flooded with a growing joy by that discovery! (John 14:6 and 15:11).
The more we recognize the disaster of sin around us and within us the more eagerly and “abandonly” do we seek the depths of Christ’s Voice. The weight of knowing He had to die drives us to His solutions for ourselves and for this fallen and conflicted world. Our hearts find a newer and higher burden for existence. It is then that the Father uses our personal cross death to
what isn’t to show through us to others how we are alive to
what is! We are Christ’s agents to floundering people! We are “standing by the door” to the Kingdom of Messiah Love. Our goal is to reveal the Savior’s invitation to life over death to all who will “risk” believing He loves them and wants them. Our goal is to let them smell the fragrance of Christ upon us and want it for themselves (II Cor. 2:14-17). We know experientially that they will not be disappointed. The story of our own floundering and how we are escaping from it is too exciting to be quiet about!
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and who is equal to such a task? … we are certainly not competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as servants of His new promise (covenant).”
II Corinthians 2:16b; 3:3-6
The Bullet of New Life in Christ: Eating the Meal that Lasts Forever
When we eat from the Lord’s Table we experience the joy of increasing strength even though the process of “digesting” spiritual energy is too complex to fully understand. Very few people come even close to comprehending all that constantly goes on in the human body. Even fewer rarely recognize the complexities of our spiritual assimilation as we merge our hearts with the Spirit of God. If we get our sleep and do it in a healthy way, our body wakes refreshed! Likewise, if we keep yielding our spirit to the prompting of His Spirit, all that needs to happen to us will happen, whether we comprehend it or not. As we experience the presence of the Savior’s spiritual provision and renewal, we hunger for more. Healthy Cross Disciples are always ready for more of the delicious, exotic and nourishing truth meals (as well as revelation snacks) that constantly satisfy their hunger for the God Picture of reality. Blessed is the Disciple who delights in eating both sustaining physical meals as well as transforming spiritual meals! That’s how the Father designed it! He intends for us to participate in both processes so we might be built up and complete human beings who reflect His wondrous intentions. As our Lord so clearly put it, “A body Thou hast prepared for Me … ” and “Lo, I have come to do Thy will, oh God” (Heb. 10:5-7). The Master had a body to care for physically and a heart to yield spiritually to the Father! So do we!
Learning how “to eat the bread and drink the blood of our Lord” is no light thing. Here are my exploratory thoughts in response to these words of the Master’s in John 6:52-59. To misunderstand this teaching is to miss the experience of the nourished spiritual life.
If we strive to live a continuously enlightened existence from faithful “cross taking,” we will come to recognize and more rightly respond to the sources of destruction and the sources of delight. These two options constantly press upon us. Only two “path choices” for our “being” are before us:
I. There is a Life Path that Leads to Death: Destruction
“There is no rest for the wicked” (Those who ignore God) (Is. 57:20)
A. My Path is Self Illusion = Deception by my Foolishness …
“The lust of the flesh controls me”
B. My Path is Culture Delusion = Diminishment with their Trivia …
“Lust of the eyes controls me"
C. My Path is Satanic Confusion = Destruction from his Hatred …
“My pride in life will control me”
Based on I John 2:15-17
II. There is a Death Path that Leads to Life: Delight
“I die daily,” Paul in I Corinthians 15:31
A. My Path Receives the Father’s Intrusion = A New Creation
( the Creator)He sent the Son of God
B. My Path Seeks the Son’s Infusion = A Full Redemption
(the Redeemer)He is the Son of God
C. My Path Accepts the Spirit’s Conclusions = An Ultimate Perfection
(the Perfecter)He reveals the Son of God
Based on II Corinthians 5:11-21
If you live to “eat” the destructions of self, culture and the demonic, you die! If you are dying to “eat” the truth of creation, redemption and perfection, you live! To drink the water the world has is to thirst again and eventually die. To drink Christ’s blood is to satisfy your thirst and never die!
“So Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves … the one who feeds on Me will live because of Me … and will live forever.’” John 6:53-58
Much could be said about the various interpretations of this difficult passage. My sum of it theologically would have the verse read thusly: “It is certain that unless you radically believe that My body was crucified for you and that My blood flowed for your sins, you will never discover the incredible and abundant life I desire to give you. It is by your own cross that you take the deeper meanings of My Body and Blood into your own existence. In following Me and increasingly dying for the Father’s mission, you live. If you do as I tell you, then you will discover what I mean. I promise! You will come alive with the wonder of what I have done and still intend to do for you and all others who live to trust Me!”
“You have made known to me the path of life … in Your Presence is fullness of joy … at Your Right Hand are pleasures evermore!” Psalm 16:11
The Bullet of New Life in Christ: Learn How to Eat – Digestion is Automatic
One of the necessities of our physical existence is eating. A person who does not eat will die … it may take some time but it is inevitable. Eating is essential for energy, joy and health! How wonderful that one of the things it pleased the Creator to do was to make eating pleasurable. Think of some of the great meals you have enjoyed and thank Him for that gift. Physical eating also provides us with new and deeper insights into the process necessary to properly nourish our spirits. The Creator made us with spiritual appetites as well as physical ones. It is His good pleasure that both are responded to and properly satisfied! “We are to desire the pure spiritual milk of God’s Word that we may grow …” (I Peter 2:2). “Take and eat, this is My Body (Mt. 26:26; Jn. 6:53), “… the right to eat from the tree of life …” (Rev. 2:7).
Who else but our Lord prepares our spiritual meals as well as plans our menus! Think of Israel in the wilderness and Jehovah choosing quail and manna to feed them. He also showed them how hitting “certain rocks” would give water to quench their thirst. For us to worry about where or what to eat spiritually is ridiculous. Trust Him to feed you on time, with a meal that is always enough (sometimes basic and sometimes gourmet). All we need to do is eat and then
move on in “that” energy. Our part is to
catch the quail,
pick-up the manna and
hit the rock. That sounds a little like “ask, seek and knock” doesn’t it? (Mt. 7:7-8). The Lord always does His part to provide the resource, but it’s ours to assimilate! As food is the power miracle that renews our body, so truth is the power miracle that renews our hearts!
Quit chasing and worrying about what verses to study, what books to read, what speakers to hear, what courses to take, what TV program to watch, what CD to buy, what events to attend! There are thousands of “truth menus” served daily by the Creator to millions of His people. You can’t eat all that’s being served nor do you need to! A little each day, so long as He is “the Chef,” is enough to sustain you to do His will. He will “put” you where you need to be. He will “put” before you what you need to eat! He has prepared and will always prepare your next spiritual meal. Sometimes more, sometimes less. Sometimes fresh, sometimes leftovers! All we have to do is to EAT DAILY from His world wide table of nourishment. There is always enough whether we think so or not! Some days might provide 2,500 truth calories, other days only 1,000. We should just eat what’s there without complaint or worry. This enables us to live satisfied and relaxed … not stuffed but not starving! We know the Savior will distribute His Truth throughout our “spiritual digestive system” according to His design and purpose. Obedience to His processes will work His purposeswhether we understand it or not!
Whatever “the food of experience brings to us in irrelevant. It can be better or worse, good or bad, delicious or so-so! As long as we eat it, the Lord will convert it into spiritual energy. Our job is to choose the best responses possible to our options for a “diet of Jesus reality.” The better we eat … both physically and spiritually … the better we live!
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‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread; and you shall know that I am the LORD your God.'"
The LORD God speaking to Israel, Exodus 16:12“
You are free to eat of any tree of the Garden except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.”
Genesis 2:16-17“
Whatever you eat … do it all to the glory of God.”
I Corinthians 10:31“
The poor will eat and be satisfied; they who seek the Lord will praise Him … all the rich of the earth will feast and worship …”
Psalm 22:26, 29
The Bullet of Peace: The Peace that Counts Most
Isaiah’s response to the loss of his leader, King Uzziah, should pave the path for our own losses of strong principled leaders! “In that year I saw the Lord!” testified Isaiah. He also confessed the reality that he was “… a man of unclean lips living in the midst of a people of unclean lips” (Is. 6:5). In other words, the world is a hopeless mess!
In memory of Anwar Sadat … the Egyptian, the humanitarian, the leader, the God fearer, the friend of Israel … let us remember two things. First, the world’s attention is increasingly focused on the Middle East. The stage is continuously being set according to Scripture, preparing that area to be the center of the climax of history. The Lord will use the most unlikely people to accomplish his purposes!
Second, even the most noble human leadership in the final analysis is inadequate to bring a final peace. Four thousand years of wars, promises, tyranny, genocide, brutality, governments and failures should prove that. We confidently await the coming from heaven of The Only Leader Who can establish, prosper and keep what all men seek!
But, while we wait for the outer Kingdom of God to be realized by all, we don’t have to wait for our own personal inner kingdom of the Messiah to begin! It is ours to see, taste and touch as we learn “our present cross.” We can still have inward peace when war, hate, foolishness and conflicts are raging outwardly. Let us make it our ambition in our deepest losses to always “see the Lord.” Jesus assures us that our quest shall be satisfied if we listen to Him, “These things I have told you so that in Me you might have peace” (John 16:33).
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Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the sons of God.”
Matthew 5:9
