Seated In Love

My six-year old has been sick this week.  The days she has been home sick, she has spent most of her time in my bed watching Christmas shows while I piddle around the house.  Throughout the day she wanders out of the bedroom to look for me.  She follows me around for a little while and then I usher her back into my bedroom where she stays for a little while, then inevitably wanders back out again to find me, follow me around for a little while, then I usher her back into the bedroom, and round and round we continue.  This morning I put on a movie for her so I could go into my closet and have some much needed quiet time with God.  I spent some time praising Him and had just begun to pray when she peeked her head through the door and crept in to see what I was doing.  A little irritated, I asked her what she needed and she replied, "I didn't know where you were so I looked for you."  I told her that I was right here, literally within feet of her the whole time.  And she responded, "But I can't see you, and when I can't see you it feels like you're not there." 

So often I have felt this way with God.  I often feel like my daughter-- content for a little while with the thought that He is near, yet inevitably succumbing to the desire to begin wandering around trying to find Him because when I can't see Him, it feels like He's not there.  But just like I am literally within a few steps from my daughter, God is always within arm's length from us.  My daughter may not know where I am, but she is safe because I know where she is.  She is safe even though she can't see me and may feel like I'm not there.

I think of the affection I feel for my daughter when I see her sweet, seeking face come around a corner or into a room and the look of relief and comfort that washes over her when she sees me standing there.  I am not angry with her because she gets anxious and doubtful.  I don't say, "Why don't you trust me?  Why don't you believe me?" I don't say these things to her because I understand that she needs to feel the comfort of my presence.  If I feel such affection, mercy, and understanding toward my daughter, I think of how much more understanding, mercy, and affection God must feel toward us.  I want her to feel safe and I want her to feel loved and I want her to trust me and know that I am trustworthy and I want her to know that my love for her is real.  I am prone to temptation and sin and if I, flawed and prone to such, feel such wonderful things toward my daughter, how much more does God, in His utter perfection, flawlessness, and holiness, feel those things toward us?

Jesus promised us, "...surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age" (Matt 28:20).  He also said, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word and My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make Our home with him" (John 14:23).  The word translated as "home" is the Greek word MONEN, which means dwelling place or abode.  It literally means a place where a person remains or abides.  A place where someone is at home and can always be found.  Jesus promised those who love Him, "Surely, I can always be found with you because I dwell with you, I am at home in you, seated in your love for Me.  Your faith is My abode."

"My God, I cry out by day, but You do not answer, by night, but I find no rest. But You are holy, You Who inhabit the praises of Israel." (Psalm 22:2,3)

"In Him the whole building is fitted together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord. And in Him you too are being built together into a dwelling place for God in His Spirit." (Eph 2:21,22)

"Do you not know that you yourselves are God's temple, and that God's Spirit dwells in you?" (1 Cor 3:16)

"What agreement can exist between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: 'I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be My people.'" (2 Cor 6:16)

"Where can I go from Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? If I go up to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in the depths, You are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me." (Psalm 139:7-10).

Both Faces Of God

When I look at contemporary Christianity, I see a lot of vanity, distraction and ignorance.  I see a lot of ugly, hard truths that need to be faced that we don't wanna face.  I see plastic smiles and plastic platitudes peddling a plastic Jesus.  I see a lot of Band-Aids being applied to mortal wounds.  There are many hard, ugly truths that need to be faced in the church, but one which seems to consistently prick at my soul is the ugly, bitter pill of truth that the church is not a fraternity and was never meant to be one. 

We must move past the mindset that the church is a fraternity. 

The church is a family of brothers and sisters.  It is not a club for men who want authority, a title, recognition, power, or an order of brotherhood.  If your desire to serve Christ is fueled by bravado and an appeal to your masculinity, then it is a desire rooted in vanity.  The answer to liberal feminism is not glorified masculinity.  Christ never appealed to the men He chose by telling them that they were destined for greatness because they were men.  He never encouraged them in any way by a vain appeal to their gender.  Christ spoke to their soul.  He taught them to use their minds and hearts as human instruments of God, not as warriors on a God-given conquest.  Our identity in Christ isn't prioritized by how manly or womanly we are, it is prioritized by how pure our heart is and how teachable we are (Matt 5:8; 20:25-28; 23:10-12; Psalm 24:3,4).

There is brotherhood to be found in the church, but it is encompassed in the context of the unity we are to have in Christ (Gal 3:28).  Which means that along with brotherhood, there is also sisterhood and both are supposed to work together in unity and in mutual submission toward a mutual goal (Eph 5:21).  Recognize it or not, there is latent misogyny in the evangelical church and many are not willing to address it, whether out of ignorance or of fear of being labeled as a progressive feminist Nazi.  It is a misogyny that is masked with a veneer of patriarchal self-righteousness and a smug, misguided scriptural purpose.  Many churches are filled with gifted, intelligent women, who are systematically discriminated against and ignored simply because they are not men.  Don't waste your breath saying that women are of equal value and importance in the church when your actions speak otherwise.  God doesn't fill women with the gift of leadership to just be the church secretary or run the nurseries.  God doesn't bless a woman with the circumstances and ability to acquire a Master's Degree in theology to just pick out Sunday School curriculum.

We must apply an even hermeneutic.

How this is worked out in each church will be different, which is why women's roles in the church are considered a secondary issue and many churches will have different interpretations of the proper application of scripture in our time and culture.  The reality is, we don't apply an even hermeneutic to how we interpret scripture on this issue.  Case in point, most of the evangelical church disregards almost all of 1 Corinthians 14 as no longer applicable, except for two verses.  Which means that thirty-eight verses are thrown out, except for the two that talk about women being silent in the church.  1 Timothy 2:8 is cast aside into the pen of extinct cultural application, in favor of staunch legalistic adherence to 2:11 & 12 without any regard to context.  Paul's example of Eve's deception at verse 13 is interpreted as an eternal restriction upon women, even though he uses the same analogy at 2 Cor 11:3 as an example of the susceptibility of deception within the church as a whole.  Such inconsistency is reprehensible. 

All scripture that is interpreted as restrictive upon women--which is, in actuality, a scant few verses-- is didactic in nature.  The "letter" genre of scripture--which encompasses all of Paul's writings-- is didactic, which means by nature, it is situational and occasional.  It was written to address specific situations during a specific frame of time, which means not only that the theology being discussed was written for the task or situation at hand, but also means that we have to be aware of cultural relativity.  Meaning, we must apply good exegesis to determine what applies to the original audience alone, versus what spiritual principles are being taught that transcend culture and are a word to be applied for all seasons.  Good exegesis reconstructs the original situation the author was addressing, so that correct context can be determined.  Correct context is critical for determining proper application.

This is not a moral issue.

How women function in the church is not a moral issue.  And sin is not a cultural issue.  Sin is sin and God's view of sin does not change with the culture.  Homosexuality, adultery and fornication are moral issues.  They are sins and they will always be sins no matter what the cultural context is.  Sin is never a secondary issue because sin affects salvation and the working out thereof.  Thus, to put women's roles in the church in the same category as allowing homosexuality in the church or overlooking adultery and fornication among the men is not only utterly absurd, but also grossly out of context.  It is argumentum ad hominem. 

We must look at the bigger picture and focus on the central Biblical message.
The reality is, that there are scriptural applications which must be interpreted by looking at the overall Biblical witness and message and by applying an even, consistent hermeneutic based on that witness and message.  Slavery, which scripture was used to justify, would be included in such an application (1 Cor 7:21; Col 3:22; 4:1; Eph 6:5-9; 1 Tim 6:1,2; Titus 2:9,10; 1 Peter 2:18).  Also segregation (1 Kings 11:2; Deut 7:3,4; Joshua 23:12; Ezra 9:2; Nehemiah 13:23-25; Psalm 106:35), not giving women the right to vote (Eph 5:22; 1 Pet 3:1,2; 1 Cor 14:34; Col 3:18), and, believe it or not, even restricting pain prevention during childbirth was once justified by scripture (Gen 3:16).  Many times we interpret scripture pursuant to our personal perspective, feelings or opinions, and this is not an appropriate hermeneutic.

 

The fact of the matter is that half, and in many circumstances, over half the church is composed of women.  Yet in most evangelical churches they are woefully underrepresented and many feel that they have no voice.  In many evangelical churches, women are completely unrepresented in visible leadership roles and all church decisions are made by men.  People are leaving the church in droves and we must take an honest look at ourselves and ask why?  And I don't believe there will be a single answer.  But I do believe that part of the answer "why" will include our insistence to continue following vain methodologies and empty traditions rather than the leading of the Spirit, which was the fatal flaw of the Pharisees.  I believe that the mentality of "the women serve the men as the men serve Christ" was never Christ's intention for the church in the first place.  I believe that God will bring revival to the church and it is a revival that will be composed of both men and women working together, lifting each other up, encouraging each other, serving each other, doing nothing out of selfish pride or ambition, but in humility considering others more important than themselves, not looking to their own interests but putting other's needs before their own (Phil 2:3-5).  It will be a church without compartmentalization and without division, structured around Christ and Him alone.

I do not covet the pulpit, nor do I desire to have authority over men.  Honestly, I have no desire to have authority over anybody because I have four daughters to raise and a farm to maintain and Bible college to finish and a church to serve and I ain't got that kind of time.  But I will say that I am neither complimentarian nor egalitarian because for me to categorize myself into one camp or the other would be to categorize God.  It would be for me to assume that God is with one camp and against the other, which would be to further exacerbate the ingroup/outgroup mentality that pervades the church.  It would be for me to encourage the "us versus them" attitude.  Paul says about secondary issues in the church, to be "fully convinced in your own mind" (Rom 14:5).  Which means that churches which interpret scripture one way on the issue should not be condemned or criticized by those who interpret it another way.  There are copious amounts of theological pontificating on both sides of the argument, both presenting reasonable arguments, both resolute in their "correctness" of interpretation, both of which should let the other be, until Jesus comes back to sort out the details. 

Any form of discrimination not rooted in moral preservation creates, fuels, and fosters division in the church and opens the doors to bitterness, resentment, contempt and needless despondency and discouragement.  Regardless of how either side interprets scripture, God is most fully and gloriously represented through both men and women, which is why He created both genders and not just one.  He created them both to each be equally dependent upon the other, each voice and each perspective indispensable to the other, which means that each voice and each perspective are also dependent upon each other and indispensable to the other in the church.  In every area of the church.  Which means that men and women--both faces of God-- must work together in unity, rather than in exclusion, and in mutual submission rather than singular submission, toward a mutual goal of sharing the Gospel, making disciples, and building Christ's kingdom.

"God created mankind in His own image, in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them. God blessed them and said to them, 'Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.'" (Gen 1:27,28)

"Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ." (Eph 5:21)

"There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." (Gal 3:28)

"For we are members of His body. For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. This mystery is profound, but I am speaking about Christ and the church." (Eph 5:30-32)

"...But God has composed the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its members should have mutual concern for one another. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ and each of you is a member of it." (1 Cor 12:24-27)

Rise Up

Monday night I was falling asleep and I heard in my mind, "Pray for sinners."  I bolted up in bed and as soon as I realized what had just happened, I thought to myself, "That's it?  Pray for sinners?  God You could have told me anything, but You picked this?"  It seemed so mundane, and to tell Christians to pray for sinners seems like a foregone conclusion.  I thought, "God surely You don't expect me to just tell everyone You said, 'Pray for sinners', because their reaction is gonna be like, 'Well, duh.  Thanks for the earth-shaking revelation.'"

It is extremely rare that I hear the Holy Spirit that clearly.  So rare, that it always catches me off guard.  And so far, on those rare occasions in which I have heard the Spirit in mind so clearly, the words I hear don't seem very earth-shaking.  But that is exactly what we see in Scripture.  Scripture tells us that God uses the weak and foolish things of the world, the lowly and despised-- the things that are not, so that He can bring to nothing the things that are-- so that no one can boast in His presence (1 Cor 1:27-29).  That is why God changes the course of history through nondescript mangers.  He pours out Living Water in the isolated, scantly populated deserts of Galilee.  He redeems through unknown Carpenters.  One thing I have learned though, is that when God does speak, He is always communicating something important, but He wants us to seek Him further for the true depths of understanding, because that is how a conversation works and that is how you have a relationship with someone.  So, although in my own thinking and understanding I didn't really know what He meant by "pray for sinners", I knew He would give me the deeper understanding I needed if I were to faithfully seek His presence through prayer.  Which is exactly what I did over the next couple days, and this is what was laid upon my heart by the Holy Spirit to communicate to believers:

The misguided and misdirected among the human race are not your enemies (Luke 23:34; Acts 7:60; Eph 6:12).  They are the pitiable slaves of your true enemy [Satan]. 

Just as scripture says that those in Christ are slaves to righteousness (Rom 6:18), those not in Christ are slaves to wickedness (2 Peter 2:19).  They are the children of their father, the devil (John 8:44). They are children of wrath (Eph 2:3), sons of disobedience (Eph 2:2, Col 3:6), and workers of iniquity (Matt 7:23).

Pray for sinners because you are going to be tempted to hate them, despise them, feel contempt and bitterness toward them, and feel discouraged by them, which will tempt even more believers into apostasy (2 Thess 2:3).

Pray for sinners because the devil works through them to batter the church and wage war on the church.  The weapons of your warfare and defense are not carnal, but divinely powered to demolish strongholds, arguments, presumptions and wicked machinations in the spiritual realm (2 Cor 10:4).

Pray for sinners because you are the only ones who will.  You are the only voices in heaven crying out to the Advocate on their wretched behalf (1 John 2:1).  You are a nation of priests, you are the sons and daughters of Your heavenly Father, crying out for the salvation of those who hate you (1 Peter 2:9; Matt 5:44,45).

Pray for sinners because beware you think you stand, lest you fall (1 Cor 10:11-13).  Pray that you yourselves are not tempted (Luke 22:46; 2 Peter 3:17).

Pray for sinners because they are lost and do not know the way.  You are the representatives of the heart of Christ, Who came to seek and save the lost and call sinners to repentance (Luke 5:32; 19:10).

Christ fought the greatest battle that has ever been won, and He waged it through prayer.

He defended Peter through prayer (Luke 22:32).

Christ would remove Himself from the crowds to pray (Luke 5:16; Matt 14:23; Mark 1:35; Luke 6:12; Luke 9:28).

His prayers were intentional and done in isolation, and He purposefully sought the presence of God.

The night before His death, He covered His disciples and the mission which was entrusted to them in prayer (John 17).

The early church operated through prayer (Acts 1:14; 2:42).

God has been really burdening me with the understanding that we will not spiritually survive the days ahead without prayer.  I cannot stress this enough.  You cannot underestimate your enemy and for crying out loud, we have got to get out of the mindset that we are just supposed to twiddle our thumbs while we wait for Christ to take us home.  WE ARE AT WAR PEOPLE!  And we're DYING OUT HERE, while lukewarm, armchair Christians try to convince everyone that we're just supposed to "rest in Christ" until He returns.  Paul clearly teaches that we are in a battle we are expected to fight in.  Why would we need armor IF WE AIN'T FIGHTIN' NOBODY??  Paul teaches that we are at war with rulers, authorities, and powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms "therefore put on the full armor of God so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand" (Eph 6:12,13).  Well guess what....WE ARE LIVING IN THAT DAY OF EVIL.  That "day of evil" has come, we're chest-deep in it, and there aren't many of us out here swinging a sword because nobody has time to pray.  If you ain't prayin' then you ain't even on the battlefield.

For the most part, Western Christianity is abysmally lacking in powerful, consistent, heartfelt prayer.  You are lucky to find a church nowadays that even has prayer meetings, and for those few that still do, it is usually only the same few people that actually show up.  Heck, you are lucky nowadays to even find a Christian that consistently goes to church (Heb 10:25).  The key element about the term "Body of Christ" is that all the parts need to be together to work right.  There are too many people trying to have an isolated relationship with God and they have no spiritual accountability to other believers (Prov 27:17; James 5:16) and are thus, spiritually ineffective and inert.

Throughout the last week or so, the phrase, "Rise Up", keeps going through my mind over and over.  The other day I was sitting at my computer working and the thought entered my mind, "To Rise Up, You Must Begin On Your Knees."  Indeed, we rise up to the throne of God to present our supplications and requests by getting on our knees in prayer.  We rise up against rulers, authorities and powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms by getting on our knees in faith that our Father has given us the victory.  We rise up in victory, by humbling ourselves before the throne.

Rise Up.

"The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.  I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us." (Rom 8:16-18)

"Now we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this surpassingly great 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 forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed." (2 Cor 4:7-9)

"And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.  With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord's people." (Eph 6:18)

"Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful." (Col 4:2)

"Pray without ceasing." (2 Thess 5:17)

"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. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." (Eph 6:14-17)

The Gospel Of Exile And Rejection

A few years ago when I felt God leading me to start my blog, I had big plans.  In 2012 He had led me to a small rural church where I started discipling under the Pastor and eventually started leading a women's Bible study group.  I was determined to grow the group, so we did mailers and I went around and placed announcements on people's car windshields.  I put up posters around town and regularly posted Facebook announcements.  Our church wasn't growing, not one visitor in almost 3 years, but I had determined in my heart that I was going to grow it, even if that meant we had a church full of women.  Besides, I figured I had "a lot to offer God", and I had all sorts of innovative ideas.

When I started the blog, I was ready to market it, advertise it and promote it.  God had given me the gift of writing and I was ready to use it for His glory....and mine.  I could easily write on topics that were captivating and engaging.  I could easily capitalize on the human tendency toward emotional appeal and prostitute my creativity toward cultural conformity.  I could easily weave together familiar culture and just enough Jesus to make it marketable.  But God said "No", and fortunately He helped me recognize it for the common temptation it was, and is, for many in ministry. 

When I first started this blog, God laid on my heart that I wasn't supposed to tell anyone that I was writing it.  There would be no promoting, no advertising, no marketing.  He also laid on my heart that the only thing I would ever write on here was what He laid on my heart to write.  I can't tell you how many articles I've started and never finished, or finished and trashed.  I can't tell you how many of these articles I've published and been hesitant to publish, for fear of what people might think.  For the first six months I wrote silently, the only person who knew was my Pastor.  For those six months I often whined to God, feeling like it was pointless and a waste of time to be pouring my heart out to no one.  Then one day, after six months of obedience, I felt led to put a link to an article on my Facebook page.  Ironically enough, it was to an article that I didn't feel comfortable sharing. Another hurdle of obedience.  And so it's been ever since-- one hurdle of obedience after the other.  God's way, God's timing, God's purposes.

The reason I'm sharing this is because of an article I read this morning about Benny Hinn's nephew. He tells about growing up in the worldly fruits of wealth and fame that come from the prosperity gospel.  He tells of the extravagant lifestyle afforded to those whose ministry is based on emotional appeal and capitalizing upon the human tendencies of desperation, greed, and naiveté.  He tells how the truth of the real Gospel message of meekness and humility and rejection mercifully brought the whole facade of the prosperity gospel crashing down in his life.  He tells of coming out of the confusion of the prosperity gospel  and into the clarity of God's true vision for His people, which is evangelism and discipleship that "transforms lost souls into found saints." 

Many of us are already aware of the illegitimacy of the prosperity gospel, so this comes as no new news.  However, what many of us are not aware of is the illegitimacy of any ministry that seeks the road of conformity and appeal.  There are many ministries which have thousands of "followers" because they are well-marketed, emotionally engaging, culturally relevant, or intellectually captivating.  The raw, bitter, and unmitigated truth which most won't admit, is that this draw toward being appealing is a temptation of everyone in ministry.  We are all susceptible to the draw of appeal, which ultimately ends up as self-promotion disguised as Gospel promotion.  Everyone in ministry feels the pull to "grow the church for God."  But what everyone in ministry doesn't admit, is the tempting pull to also grow a following.  What everyone in ministry doesn't admit, is the temptation to validate their ministry by how many people seem to follow or listen to them.

But God doesn't need us to sell His Gospel.  He doesn't need us to make it appealing, or marketable, or popular, or well-liked.  If truth be told, God really doesn't even need us to grow His church because He is fully capable of doing it Himself by the power of His Spirit.  However, God chooses to use us for this task.  He chooses, in His wisdom and grace, to work through us, for whatever reasons known only to Him.  God doesn't need our big plans and innovative ideas and the proven track-record of effective evangelistic methodologies.  I've said this before and I will say it again, one of the hardest things I've ever done is walk away from my own plans to grow God's kingdom and submit to His.  The deception of our own plans is so subtle, so reasonable, so justified.  As far as deception goes, the devil can't hold a candle to self-deception.  With self-deception, the enemy is in our own camp.  It is the treasonous coup of our own misguided will. 

What I have learned over the last five years since God called me into ministry, is that humility, meekness, patience, perseverance, and total, utter dependence upon God are the fruits of those who are truly called to Christian ministry.  I have learned that rejection and ridicule are the markers of those who speak genuine, soul-stirring truths.  I have learned that you cannot measure the validity of the ministry to which you have been called by how many people who agree with you.  Jesus said no disciple is greater than his teacher, nor servant greater than his master (Matt 10:24), and He preached more sermons at the dinner tables of sinners than He did to a stadium full of saints. 

He said the world hated Him first, therefore it will hate us too (John 15:18).  He said we are sheep among wolves (Matt 10:16), chosen out of the world to bring a message of salvation and hope that would be scorned and rejected by most because it is wholly unappealing to the intrinsic nature of sinful man.  A message that reminds us we are sinners who have no hope in this world or the next, without intimate devotion to Jesus Christ.  A message that demands the perpetual denial of self and of all the things the world tries to convince us we "deserve."  A message that chastises us when we wander away from the holiness that God desires in those who follow Him.  A message that turns a citizen of this world into an exile and sojourner.  A message that magnifies our flaws and weaknesses, and yet the message itself being the only answer to fixing them.  A message of hope, a message of humility, a message of things to let go of, but of great joy to come.  A message that cannot be sold and does not need to be marketed.  Because it is a message from God Himself, with the power to transform the human soul.

"Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God's elect, exiles scattered throughout..." (1 Peter 1:1)

"Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul." (1 Peter 2:11)

"Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves." (Luke 10:3)

"Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him." (John 13:6)

"He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem." (Isaiah 53:3)

"For many will come in My name, claiming, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many...Then they will hand you over to be persecuted and killed, and you will be hated by all nations on account of My name. At that time many will fall away and will betray and hate one another, and many false prophets will arise and mislead many." (Matt 24:5,9-11)

"Beware of false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves." (Matt 7:15)

The Ultimate Curtain Call

"If God would concede me His omnipotence for 24 hours, you would see how many changes I would make in the world.  But if He gave me His wisdom too, I would leave things as they are."--Jacques Marie Louis Monsabre

How often do we look around this world and think of all the things we would change?  All the ways we could improve it?  All the things that could be done differently?  In my opinion, the world is the way it is because God has given us too much governance over it.  For the world to be better, we should have less control over circumstances, not more.  We've made a big enough mess without God conceding to us His omnipotence.

When I think of why things must be the way they are, the last person I blame is God.  When I wonder why He allows some things to happen, I am reminded that God can see things I can't.  God is outside of time and circumstance.  This whole play, from the beginning to the end has already been written, we are just inside of it, walking it out.  Which is not to say that we are robots, merely walking out a script that God has written.  We have free will and have been given the freedom to make our own choices.  We speak our own lines in this play and God has provided the stage.  But God already knows what will happen-- He bookends linear time-- from beginning to end He is there, waiting.  Nothing comes as a surprise to God, so whatever we encounter in this life, He already has a plan.  He already has preparations in place to help us endure it.

When I think of all the bonehead decisions I've made and all the times God has checkmated those decisions, I am overwhelmed with gratitude.  Which is not to say that He has never allowed me to suffer the consequences of my own ignorance, because He has.  But eventually, I always came around.  Eventually, He lifted me out of the slimy pit, mud and mire.  Sometimes it took longer to come out of the mud and mire than others, but He was always there.

I no longer dwell on wondering why bad things happened to me, because I think of all the bad things that should have or could have happened, but didn't.  And I am filled with gratitude.  I don't look for God's seeming "failures," I look for His grace.  Even in the darkest, deepest pit, you can find His grace.  Even if all else seems to fail, we at least still have eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ.  And that is worth losing everything else.  Eternal life in the presence of Jesus Christ is worth every moment of suffering, every failed plan, every rejection, every criticism, every staggering loss.

In my finite, flawed, and fallen reasoning, there are many things I would change about the world if God gave me the power to do it.  But if He gave me His wisdom along with it, I would change nothing.  Because then I would see as God sees.  I would see that everything has been orchestrated around a perfect, finished plan.  I would see the grand design of a Master Clocksmith-- every gear precisely positioned to make all the others turn, ticking in unison, "click, click, click," marking off each second, each decision, each circumstance, turning the wheel of time forward until God walks out onto the stage and the play is over.  Until the ultimate curtain call.

C.S. Lewis had this to say about it:  "God will invade. But I wonder whether people who ask God to interfere openly and directly in our world quite realize what it will be like when He does. When that happens, it is the end of the world. When the author walks on to the stage the play is over. God is going to invade, all right: but what is the good of saying you are on His side then, when you see the whole natural universe melting away like a dream and something else - something it never entered your head to conceive - comes crashing in; something so beautiful to some of us and so terrible to others that none of us will have any choice left? For this time it will be God without disguise; something so overwhelming that it will strike either irresistible love or irresistible horror into every creature. It will be too late then to choose your side. There is no use saying you choose to lie down when it has become impossible to stand up. That will not be the time for choosing; it will be the time when we discover which side we really have chosen, whether we realized it before or not. Now, today, this moment, is our chance to choose the right side. God is holding back to give us that chance. It will not last forever. We must take it or leave it."

"For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose" (Isaiah 46:9,10)

"I waited patiently for the LORD; He turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the LORD and put their trust in Him." (Psalm 40:1-3)

"In the same way, any one of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be My disciple." (Luke 14:33)

"But watch yourselves, or your hearts will be weighed down by dissipation, drunkenness, and the worries of life--and that day will spring upon you suddenly like a snare. For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. So keep watch at all times, and pray that you may have the strength to escape all that is about to happen and to stand before the Son of Man." (Luke 21:34-36)

"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.  I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Look! God's dwelling place is now among the people, and He will dwell with them.They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.'" (Rev 21:1-4)

The Cries Have Reached Heaven

As of late, I have been praying for God to burden me with His will.  To reveal to me His heart.  To burden my spirit with what He wants me to pray, to direct me as to how to intercede in prayer.  And what has kept ringing in my mind over the last several days is, "The cries against this land have reached heaven."  So, I began to search scripture and I found several things the Bible speaks of that cry out to heaven. 

1.  The Sin of Willful Murder:  "Then the Lord said to Cain, 'Where is your brother Abel?' 'I don't know,' he replied. 'Am I my brother's keeper?' The Lord said, 'What have you done? Listen! Your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground.'" (Gen 4:9,10)

Willful murder encompasses abortion, and it is a sin that cries out to heaven for vengeance.  The Didache states, "Do not murder; do not commit adultery; do not practice pederasty; do not fornicate; do not steal; do not deal in magic; do not practice sorcery; do not kill a fetus by abortion, or commit infanticide (Didache 2:2).  From 1970 to 2013 the number of abortions in the US that have been reported to the CDC is almost 52 million.  That's 52,000,000 babies that have been willfully murdered in this land in the last 40 years.  The blood of 52,000,000 babies cries out to God from the ground of the US.

2.  The Sin of Oppression, Extortion, Greed and Exploitation:  "Now listen you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you. Your wealth has rotted and moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the innocent one who was not opposing you." (James 5:1-6)

American enterprise is built on exploited labor.  Migrant farm workers are the backbone of America's agricultural powerhouse.  Migrant labor forms the bedrock under our indulgence.  And we condemn these men and women who pour out their lives in cheap labor so we can keep prices within our means to gluttonously consume.  We are a haughty bunch, who expect to be paid top dollar for our own labor, but we don't want the price of living to go up.  So we hire those who will take less for their labor, then condemn them for being here.  And then passionately defend our case for condemning them.  This may not seem like a big deal to many, but scripture says that the cries of the exploited reach His ears.  And that's a big deal.

3.  The Sin of Sodom:  "Then the Lord said, 'The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached Me. If not, I will know.'" (Gen 18:20,21).

The sin of Sodom was immorality, sexual perversion, rejection of heavenly authority, blasphemy, arrogance, gluttony, apathy which comes through the ease of prosperity, neglect of the poor and needy, abominable behavior, haughtiness and pride (Jude 7,8; Ezekiel 16:49,50).  That pretty much sums up our prideful nation that idolizes comfort, pleasure, sex and food and focuses more on self than others. 

A woman flushed her baby down the toilet the other day in a McDonald's bathroom.  Some Florida teenagers watched a handicapped person drown as he cried out for them to save him.  All they did was watch and laugh.  We have gay pride parades that celebrate that which God has declared unholy.  We not only openly celebrate it in our streets, but we take our children to observe these celebrations.  We fornicate with absolutely no shame, encouraging safe and responsible sex outside of marriage, like this is some sort of commendable effort.  A magazine published an article for teenagers, explaining how to "properly" engage in anal sex. We are the number one exporter of pornography.  A movie is coming out called "Mother" which horrendously blasphemes the holy Triune God of Creation.  It is a movie which is Antichrist through and through, a monstrous and gruesome affront towards, and rejection of, heavenly authority. 

We are creatures of instinct, we carouse and indulge in evil pleasures in broad daylight, we have hearts trained in greed, we have eyes full of adultery, we tempt the weak and our desire for sin is never satisfied, we have left the straight way and wandered off, chasing the wages of wickedness (2 Peter 2:12-15).  

We are lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to parents, ungrateful and selfish, unholy, without love of Godly things, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, duplicitous and deceitful, impulsive, conceited lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God (2 Tim 3:1-4). 

Now is the time of repentance for America, but despite God's attempt at getting our attention "none of them repent of their wickedness, saying, 'What have I done?' Each pursues their own course like a horse charging into battle. Even the stork in the sky knows her appointed season, and the dove, the swift and the thrush observe the time of their migration. But my people do not know the requirements of the Lord." (Jer 8:6,7)

I don't know what the days ahead hold for our country, but I do know that it is not good.  Even if we repent, God must cleanse this land because it has been thoroughly defiled with sin.  I am well aware that many will scoff at what I write here and turn a blind eye.  I am well aware that many will not even take the time to read it, and I grieve.  After seeking God in heartfelt, humble prayer-- seeking His presence, seeking His guidance, seeking His leading-- this is the word He has burdened upon me by His Spirit:

"Even now," declares the Lord,

"return to me with all your heart,

with fasting and weeping and mourning.

Rend your heart and not your garments.

Return to the Lord your God,

for He is gracious and compassionate,

slow to anger and abounding in love,

and He relents from sending calamity.

Who knows? He may turn and relent

and leave behind a blessing--

grain offerings and drink offerings for the Lord you God.

Blow the trumpet in Zion,

declare a holy fast,

call a sacred assembly.

Gather the people,

consecrate the assembly,

bring together the elders,

gather the children,

those nursing at the breast.

Let the bridegroom leave his room and the bride her chamber.

Let the priests, who minister before the Lord,

weep between the portico and the altar.

Let them say, 'Spare your people, Lord.

Do not make Your inheritance an object of scorn,

a byword among the nations.

Why should they say among the peoples, "Where is their God?"'" (Joel 2:12-17)

The Chosen Ones

There are two Hebrew words for what we would call a congregation or assembly.  One is EDAH (ay-daw), which is usually translated as SYNAGOGUE, which refers to a permanent community or a congregation in general.  The other is QAHAL (kaw-hawl), which is more specific and it refers to a company or assembly of those who have heard and obeyed the call of the Lord and are bound to Him by His covenant.  It is this Hebrew word, QAHAL, that is translated as the Greek word EKKLESIA in the Septuagint-- which is the Greek translation of the Old Testament.

Thus, it is the meaning of the word QAHAL:  "those who have heard and obeyed the call of the Lord and are bound to Him by His covenant," that the New Testament writers have in mind when they use the Greek word EKKLESIA, which is translated as "church."  The literal meaning of the word EKKLESIA is "those who are called, chosen, or selected out from." Those who have heard the proclamation of salvation in Christ and have responded by faith are literally "THE CHOSEN ONES"--called to have a special relationship with God.  

The early Christians understood that they had been called out from among the human population to accept and follow Jesus-- the crucified Lord and Savior-- and that they had been given a commission to proclaim Him as such to others.  The New Testament depicts the church as a unique group of people who have been summoned, assembled and mobilized by God's call to have a special relationship with Him in Christ and to fulfill the purpose of His will. 

We have been called out from the human population.

We are set apart for a special purpose.

We are set apart for a mission.

We are set apart for service to the God of all creation.

The Apostle Peter says we are "a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light." (1 Peter 2:9)

Peter tells us who we are:  a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation.

He tells why:  to be a people for God's own possession.

And he tells us for what purpose:  to proclaim the virtues of Him Who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

If you have been called into the EKKLESIA, you have been called to fulfill a purpose, and that purpose is not to build our own kingdom on this earth.

At 1 Cor 6:20 Paul says, "You are not your  own, you have been bought with a price."

Rev 5:9 says we have been purchased for God by the blood of Jesus Christ.

Because I have been purchased to be God's own possession by the blood of Christ, my body and my time no longer belong to me.  I mourn when I think about how much time I have squandered on my own pursuits, trying to build my own kingdom.  We get so easily caught up in our day-to-day routine, building with straw, hay, and stubble-- consuming time that belongs to the Lord, accumulating things that have no value in eternity.

Let us be reminded that-- as part of those who make up the EKKLESIA of God, as part of those who are called out from the masses, as part of those who have been set apart-- we are called to be a kingdom of priests whose mission is to proclaim the Gospel of Christ.  We have been purchased and called for a purpose.  Our time no longer belongs to us to spend as we desire because we are called to be servants of the Living God.

"Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ in service of the faith of God's elect and of their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness, in the hope of eternal life, which God, Who cannot lie, promised before time began." (Titus 1:1,2)

"Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, and set apart for the gospel of God, which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, regarding His Son, who was a descendant of David according to flesh, and Who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by His resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. Through Him and on behalf of His name, we received grace and apostleship to call all those among the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith." (Rom 1:1-5)

"For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: 'I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be My people. Therefore come out from among them and be separate,' says the Lord. 'Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.' And: 'I will be a Father to you, and you will be My sons and daughters,' says the Lord Almighty. Therefore, beloved, since we have these promises, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that defiles body and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." (2 Cor 6:16-7:1)

"And He said to them, 'Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.'" (Mark 16:15)

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." (Acts 1:8)

"And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come." (Matt 24:14)

Tears And A Spray Paint Can

We are building a pool.  It's been a long process and we're nearing the end.  The first day that I met with our building contractor, as we sat on the couch and talked about pool construction, out of the blue God burdened my heart to ask him if he went to church.  I argued with God in my mind as the contractor explained the pool process-- half of my mind wrestling and arguing with God and the other half trying to pay attention to the contractor.  I wrestled with God because I didn't know this man and I was afraid he would be offended if I just blurted out "Hey, you go to church?"  That's kind of a weird, random question to ask your pool contractor you just met.  

About four minutes later, God won the argument, so I said, "Are you a church goin' man?"  He blinked a couple times, and looked at me like I just told him I liked to eat dog hair.  I could tell he was trying to regain his composure from what must have seemed like a bizarrely random question in the middle of explaining the pool construction process.  But then he said yes, that sometimes he went to a certain church in the town he lives, but that he hadn't been in a while.  And just to maintain the awkwardness, 'cuz, you know, if I'm anything, I'm awkward, I said, "Well, you look like a church goin' man."  He doesn't look like a church goin' man. Then we resumed talking about the pool construction process.  That was almost four weeks ago and we've spoken off and on since then, but we've only discussed our pool construction.

Today he was supposed to be here at 1 p.m. for us to add extra concrete to our patio design.  I didn't hear from him until 6:30 p.m.  Earlier in the afternoon I felt a little irritated when he didn't show up.  I wasn't angry, but I pointed some irritated thoughts in his direction....wherever he was.  When he finally got here, he was flustered and quickly trying to calculate concrete square footage.  As we talked about the concrete, he made a few comments about the stress of his job.  I told him I couldn't imagine the burden of dealing with homeowners and subcontractors and all the problems in-between, day in and day out.  As he talked, God told me to ask him if I could pray for him.  Despite the awkwardness of our first encounter when I asked him about church, I didn't wrestle with God this time.  As my contractor was gathering his equipment to leave, I asked him if I could pray for him.  He hesitated a moment and said, "Yes."   

So, I stood there in our half-constructed patio, surrounded by two-by-fours, broken rocks, spray painted lines and goose droppings and took this man's hand.  A man I barely know.  A man that does not look like a church goin' man.  A man that builds pools and deals with subcontractors who accidentally cut cable lines and electric lines when they dig a pool.  A man that deals with homeowners who call him every hour of the day and night.  A man who was precious to God and needed prayer.  When I finished praying, this grown man was weeping behind his dark sunglasses as he stood there with a spray paint can in his hand.

He wept because he is a human being who is hurting.

He wept because God told me to pray with Him and I obeyed, so God touched his heart at just the right time.

He wept for other reasons that only he and God know.

God touches lives through our obedience.  And although sometimes what He asks us to do may seem uncomfortable or weirdly random, He has a plan.  Today I stood in my yard and poured out my heart in prayer for this man, but four weeks ago I didn't even want to ask him if he went to church.  But four weeks ago, God knew about today-- the day this man was going to need prayer.  The day that God would remind him that he is treasured and loved.  The day that God would speak to him through someone else.

So today, I encourage you to be obedient to God.  I encourage you to remember that every soul is a precious treasure to God.  I encourage you to reach out to those who are hurting.  Our world is full of broken, hurting people that God wants to speak to through you.   He wants to tell them that they are treasured and loved.

"Carry one another's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the Law of Christ." (Gal 6:2)

"And the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick. The Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power to prevail." (James 5:15,16)

"Pray in the Spirit at all times, with every kind of prayer and petition. To this end, stay alert with all perseverance in your prayers for all the saints." (Eph 6:18)

Defiled By A Yoga Mat

I have noticed Yoga classes being offered at many churches nowadays.  To which I marvel at the lack of discernment within entire congregations.  And when you point out that Yoga is, indeed, a legitimate system of worship that is part of the Hindu religion, people give excuses as to why they have reasoned within themselves that it's okay, rather than humbling themselves and considering any error on their part.  Among those excuses is the most prevalent, "I do it for exercise" or "I'm not worshipping anything while I do it."  But those are just illegitimate excuses to justify doing it.  Any reason to justify doing something that would even remotely grieve God, is an illegitimate excuse.  Quite often when Jesus taught something that people didn't want to accept, He would end His teaching with the phrase, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear" (Matt 11:15; 13:9,43; Mark 4:9,23; Luke 8:8; Rev 2:7,11; 36). Even Jesus knew that everyone wouldn't receive the truth of His message.

Something that much of the church seems unaware of, is God's very real contempt toward mixing religions.  Throughout the Old Testament, He refers to it as "harlotry" or spiritual adultery.  It is the very reason for which He destroyed His beloved Israel.  And because the God of the Old Testament is the same God of the New Testament, Paul tells us that how God dealt with Israel was written down as a warning to us: "Now these things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come." (1 Cor 10:11)

Over and over, God spoke through His prophets about Israel's idolatry and spiritual adultery: 

-"Look at the shrines on every hilltop. Is there any place you have not been defiled by your adultery with other gods? You sit like a prostitute beside the road waiting for a customer. You sit alone like a nomad in the desert. You have polluted the land with your prostitution and your wickedness." (Jer 3:2)
-"Their deeds will not allow them to return to their God. For a spirit of harlotry is within them and they do not know the LORD." (Hosea 5:4)
-"Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD, 'Because you have forgotten Me and cast Me behind your back, bear now the punishment of your lewdness and your harlotries.'" (Ezek 23:35)
-"These things will be done to you because you have played the harlot with the nations, because you have defiled yourself with their idols." (Ezek 23:30)

Much of the Mosaic Law was to symbolize Israel's separation from the other nations:

-"For is not the fact of your going with us the sign that I and this people have grace in your eyes, so that we, that is, I and your people, are separate from all the other people on the face of the earth?" (Ex 33:16)
-"You must keep the Israelites separate from things that make them unclean, so they will not die in their uncleanness for defiling my dwelling place, which is among them." (Lev 15:31)
-"Therefore, separate yourselves and be holy, because I am the LORD your God." (Lev 20:7)
-"But I have said to you, you will take their land and I will give it to you for your heritage, a land flowing with milk and honey: I am the Lord your God Who have made you separate from all other peoples." (Lev 20:24)

And this spiritual principle of the separateness of God's people carries over into the New Testament to be applied within Christianity today:
-"What agreement can exist between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be My people. Therefore come out from among them and be separate', says the Lord. 'Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.'" (2 Cor 6:16,17)

-"You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot partake in the table of the Lord and the table of demons too." (1 Cor 10:21)

Because Western Christianity tends to have a very casual attitude about Christ, it has been inundated with Eastern Mysticism and even occult influences.  Western Christianity has become a very mixed religion.  However, God calls His church to be "without stain or wrinkle or any such blemish, but holy and blameless." (Eph 5:27); "..holy, unblemished, and blameless in His presence.." (Col 1:22); "make every effort to be found at peace with Him, without spot or blemish." (2 Pet 3:14); "..keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ," (1 Tim 6:14). 

We may have a casual attitude towards our salvation, but God does not:  "How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace?" (Heb 10:29); "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in Whom you were sealed for the day of redemption." (Eph 4:30).

If God has a serious attitude toward holiness, then so should we:  "Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord." (Heb 12:14); "..But just as He Who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do, because it has been written: 'You shall be holy, because I am holy.'" (1 Peter 1:15,16).

For an article that explains the spiritual aspect of Yoga far better than I ever could, I recommend you take the time to read:  The Spiritual Stretch Of Yoga 

"Salt is good, but if the salt loses its savor, with what will it be seasoned? It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile, and it is thrown out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear." (Luke 14:35)

"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being My priest. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children." (Hosea 4:6)

"For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first." (2 Pet 2:20)

"Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says: 'Today if you should hear His voice, do not harden your hearts, as you did in the rebellion, in the time of testing in the wilderness, where your fathers tried Me by testing Me, and for forty years saw My works. Therefore I was angry with that generation, and I said, "Their hearts always go astray, and they have not known My ways." So I swore on oath in My anger, "They shall never enter My rest."' See to it, brothers, that none of you has a wicked heart of unbelief that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another every day, while it is called today, so that not one of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin." (Heb 3:7-13)

Eclipsing Repentance

Genesis 1:14 says, "Then God said, 'Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years.'"  The phrase translated as "and let them be for signs" is the Hebrew "LE'OTOT", which is a form of the Hebrew word "OTH", which can mean banner, omen, sign or witness.  Depending on the context, this word can mean a sign such as the changing seasons and times, or it can mean a sign or omen promised by prophets as pledges of certain predicted events, such as God moving the shadow of the sun on Ahaz's stairway at Isaiah 38:7,8. 

Unless you've been living under a rock for the last year, I'm sure you are aware of the total solar eclipse that will be traversing across the entire United States, from sea to shining sea, on August 21st of this year.  Jewish tradition held that lunar eclipses were a bad sign for Israel and that solar eclipses were a bad sign for the Gentile nations.  This tradition is related to the fact that Gentile nations held to a solar calendar and Jews reckoned their calendar by the moon.  The Jewish Talmud* states:  "When the sun is in eclipse, it is a bad omen for the whole world. This may be illustrated by a parable. To what can this be compared? To a human being who made a banquet for his servants and put up for them a lamp. When he became wroth with them he said to his servant, ‘Take away the lamp from them, and let them sit in the dark’... When the sun is in eclipse it is a bad omen for idolaters; when the moon is in eclipse, it is a bad omen for Israel, since Israel reckons by the moon and idolaters by the sun" (Succah 29a).

It goes on to say that the Rabbis taught that there are four reasons for a solar eclipse over a nation.  One of those four reasons is as a sign that homosexuality/sodomy has invaded a culture (Succah 29a).  Not only do I find that worthy of note, but I also find it worthy to note that the total solar eclipse across the contiguous U.S. on August 21st, 2017, is also the first day of the Jewish month of Elul.  In the Jewish tradition, the month of Elul is a time of repentance in preparation for the High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah (also known as Yom Teruah or Feast of Trumpets) and Yom Kippur.  Yom Kippur is also known as the Day of Atonement, or Judgment Day.  According to Jewish tradition, an entire month was spent in heartfelt repentance to prepare oneself for judgment and atonement.  And it just so happens that the first total solar eclipse across the entire contiguous U.S. in almost 100 years falls simultaneously on the day that begins the Jewish month of repentance that precedes Judgment Day.  I find this remarkable.

During the month of Elul, every effort is made to repent and "return" to God in every area of a person's life.  It is a time of thorough self-examination, a time of coming before God in total submission, without worldly distraction, seeking Him to reveal anything in our lives that does not line up with the standard of His Word and the lives we are called to live as those who call Him Lord.  The month of Elul is, quite literally, the season in which we ensure our lamps are full and our wicks are trimmed in preparation for the arrival of the Bridegroom for the wedding feast (Matt 25:1-13).  Which is why I find it additionally remarkable and worthy to note, that the rabbis used a parable about taking the lamp away from unworthy servants to illustrate the significance of a total solar eclipse:  "Take away the lamp from them, and let them sit in the dark" (Succah 29a).

I wrote a post last year around this time about America as Daughter Babylon who sits in the dust...in the dark:  Cold Love Of Daughter Babylon

I wrote a series on the Parable of the Ten Virgins and the Jewish month of Elul, that goes into greater detail and explanation:  The Picture On The Puzzle Box

I also wrote another post last year around this time, in which God impressed upon my spirit the gross need for repentance:  Balm Of Gilead

"Come down and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon;

sit on the ground without a throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans!

For you shall no more be called tender and delicate...

Your nakedness shall be uncovered, and your disgrace shall be seen.

I will take vengeance, and I will spare no one.

Our Redeemer—the LORD of hosts is his name— is the Holy One of Israel.

Sit silently, and go into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans,

For you will no longer be called The queen of kingdoms.

Yet you said, 'I will be a queen forever.'

These things you did not consider Nor remember the outcome of them.

Now therefore hear this, you lover of pleasures, who sit securely,

who say in your heart, 'I am, and there is no one besides me;

I shall not sit as a widow or know the loss of children':

These two things shall come to you in a moment, in one day;

the loss of children and widowhood shall come upon you in full measure,

in spite of your many sorceries and the great power of your enchantments.

You felt secure in your wickedness, you said, 'No one sees me';

your wisdom and your knowledge led you astray,

and you said in your heart, 'I am, and there is no one besides me.'

Disaster will come upon you, and you will not know how to conjure it away.

A calamity will fall upon you that you cannot ward off with a ransom;

a catastrophe you cannot foresee will suddenly come upon you." (Isaiah 47:1-11)

After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was made bright with his glory. And he called out with a mighty voice, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place for demons, a haunt for every unclean spirit, a haunt for every unclean bird, a haunt for every unclean and detestable beast. All the nations have drunk the wine of the passion of her immorality. The kings of the earth were immoral with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown wealthy through the extravagance of her luxury."
Then I heard another voice from heaven say: "'Come out of her, my people,' so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues; For her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. Give back to her as she has done to others; pay her back double for what she has done; mix her a double portion in her own cup.
To the degree that she has glorified herself and lived in luxury, inflict on her that much torment and misery. In her heart she says, 'I sit as queen; I am not a widow and will never see mourning.' Therefore her plagues will come in one day, death and misery and famine; and she will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the Lord God who judges her"... Then a mighty angel picked up a stone the size of a great millstone and cast it into the sea, saying: "With such violence the great city of Babylon will be cast down, never to be seen again... The light of a lamp will never shine in you again, and the voice of the bridegroom and bride will be heard in you no more. For your merchants were the great ones of the earth, because all the nations were deceived by your sorcery." (Rev 18:1-23)

*Disclaimer:  I do not consider the Jewish Talmud to be inspired literature.  I am very well aware that the Talmud discredits Jesus and His teachings.  However, the Talmud is a rich source of Jewish oral and historical tradition, and for that reason only have I included it as reference in this post.